What's in a Name
by Seraphim-Burning
Summary: Sheldon and Penny are new parents and it's not as easy as Penny thought it would be... A collection of Penny/Sheldon stories also some Raj/Missy, Leonard/Leslie, Howard/OC
1. Sheldon

Sheldon

She couldn't honestly say when it had happened, she couldn't really explain how it had happened just that it had. Even at that moment (the first peaceful one in the nearly twenty three past hours) she could only lie in the uncomfortable hospital bed reeling at what had transpired and where life had left her.

She looked at her hands spread across the sheets, pale peach against flannel and blue generic linens. Both too crisp and smelling far to little like home to allow her to sleep despite how completely exhausted she was. Her eyes scanned the wall she could see before falling upon the mesh and 70's coloured screen the nurses or doctors could drag across the rails. In the distance she could hear the hustle and bustle of a place that never slept but much closer she could hear his breathing and see his body slumped into the chair next to her bed. His long and lanky form folded in a way that must have been uncomfortable but sleeping nonetheless. If she had been up for over twenty three hours he was pushing thirty. A soft smile passed over her face as her eyes drank him in. His pants were brown today, his arms folded over his chest hiding the Aquaman logo she had a hunch was emblazoned there over the stark orange. She could not see the long sleeved T-shirt he wore underneath since a brown plaid blazer covered him. She felt her mouth frown a little. When he woke he would be annoyed that he had not taken it off and it would require extensive steaming to ensure it was not infected with air bourne diseases.

Turning her head she raised her legs, testing their strength. Sore but viable. As silently as possible she pulled the sheets back from the bed and turned her body. Easing gently towards the side of the bed she began the motions of moving. Trying her best not to disturb his vigil and instead of waking him she made her way towards the two little plastic baskets that he had obviously had wheeled in. He had probably sat down to wake her and fallen asleep himself. After all as pregnant as she had been and as careful as she had been there was no way her care could overshadow his intense neurosis.

When she had found out they were pregnant he had been terrified and locked himself in his room for two days, refusing to come out even for food. He had opted to use a delivery system sustained by Leonard and their other friends at Penny's insistence. When he finally did come out it took him three more days to stop avoiding her. However once the "cooling off period" had been established he seemed to jump into parenthood with the manic zeal he approached almost everything with, determined to become an expert within the limited amount of time he had been granted and treating her as a real live test subject. Penny had endured it the best she could, halfway surprised he had actually decided to acknowledge the paternity rather then opting for a more distanced approach. Abortion had been ruled out immediately (she felt his mother's influence had probably played more then a small hand in this decision). She herself had decided to keep the baby when it was born whether or not he had wanted to have a hand in its upbringing. From what she had seen he wanted far more then a hand. He had managed to insinuate himself into her life totally and completely.

So the past nine months had consisted of "exactly measured" diets, late night questionnaires and daily belly measuring. Somewhere in between wondering how the hell she had gotten herself tied to a man that she personally considered borderline insane and what the hell she was doing with her life she realized she was in love with him. The obsession became endearing, the diets were heartwarming meals, the questionnaires were nightly bouts of flirting and the belly measuring the highlight of her day. At some point, somehow she had discovered that she loved the strange man she had nicknamed Dr. Whackadoodle. Loved him so much that it spilled over in her heart and poured over the two little creatures placed in the separate plastic bassinets before her.

The two little bundles before her were sound asleep, their heads dark with more hair then she though possible on newborns, their little faces tiny, and perfect with the blankets denoting that she had indeed given birth to a boy and a girl. She wondered if he had found it amusing, even slightly. Neither of them had suspected twins, although in retrospect she knew her own Grandmother had been a twin and she did have twin aunts. She had heard that increased her chances. It hardly mattered. What mattered was he had been there, wrapped from head to toe in surgical gear, looking decidedly green however well enough to insult at least three nurses and her attending doctor to the point she could tell they were considering giving him the epidural.

He had refused to sleep the night before. After all it had been her due date and while Leonard was doing the driving (since Sheldon's attempts at getting an actual license had been horrible so far) Sheldon was determined that they would be prepared. So prepared in fact Penny had been certain that the car wouldn't have enough room for her in it. Still, he refused to sleep unless Leonard agreed to be "on watch". In the end he had stayed up all night long, gone into work and had been called back almost immediately as her water broke during his commute and Leonard was ferrying her away to the hospital. He had even taken a taxi to get to the hospital on time but when it had mattered he had been there by her side. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice that there were two pairs of little eyes stared out at her. Penny felt her breath caught in her throat. So much so she didn't realize that she was no longer the only observer.

"Hello there babies," she whispered, waving her hands at them "I'm your mommy."

"They can't see you. Not really. Newborns usually open their eyes right away but lack the ability to focus. Right now you are a pleasantly coloured blur. However there is nothing that states that the parental bonding stage should not start immediately. Given the complications inherent in the delivery it would be wise to start the bonding process as quickly and efficiently as possible."

She sighed turning to look into his eyes. Noting that he was not really looking at her as he was staring behind her. His eyes were focused and analytical, not at all out of control. In fact the only indication that he wasn't his usual self were the dark bags smeared on his face and his slightly mussed clothing and hair. While he wasn't looking at her she did notice that he had one hand on her elbow, as if he were afraid she would skitter away if he let go.

"They're so beautiful The most beautiful babies I've ever seen." she whispered into the silence of the room.

"Comparatively there is no justification for that statement." he replied indifferently, "When Leonard, Raj, Howard and I went to the nursery they made the same assertions however I fail to see how our newborns are more physically attractive then other infants of a similar age. Is there something I do not understand? What are the parameters used for judging their appearances? Are we speaking in terms of geography? Our newborns are the most beautiful on this floor, this hospital, this state? How many children their age have you seen?"

"Sheldon, Sweetie..." she cooed, turning and pressing hands against his chest.

Immediately the tirade stopped and he looked at her, tilting his head slightly and giving her a questioning gaze. Smiling at him she rose on her tip toes ignoring the tension in her legs as she pressed her lips to his. His body tensed at first and then relaxed into the embrace nuzzling against her. He was will becoming used to public displays, even if the public consisted of two human beings that they had made in and even more gratuitous display of affection.

"They're beautiful because their ours you goof. I don't anymore reasons then that."

She could see his mind analyzing those words. Ready to argue the validity of them. Emotionalism vs. Logic. Rational thought against Irrational impulse. Still he just looked down at her and nodded in a sage way as if accepting the statement in all its faults before insisting that she get back into bed this instant and reminding her that it would take weeks for her to fully recover. She let him tuck her back in and watched her nurse for the first time before the a largish woman in scrubs wheeled the children back down to the nursery. She was sad to see them go however he stayed. Even without the babies present he stayed by her side. He never left.


	2. Leonard

Leonard

"We have to name him something Sheldon." Penny stated, her eyes wide and the deep exhaustion resonating through her entire body as she rocked one of their twins in her arms.

He merely narrowed his eyes at her, obviously displeased with her rushing him, probably none to pleased with the fact she was sitting in HIS seat once again as well. She did not care. Penny had argued that she was indeed sitting in HIS seat, nursing HIS incredibly finicky daughter (who was colicky) while he got to hold HER quiet and rather passive son while typing one handed on his laptop. He had backed down after that, but just barely. God, sometimes she missed Leonard so much.

Startlingly enough, moving into the larger apartment had actually been Leonard's idea. After watching their strange courtship and her pregnancy it was sort of a baby shower present. They had switched rooms, he had taken over Penny's apartment which allowed the growing family the space they needed and an extra room which the boys had attempted to convert into a high tech nursery. Penny's brother and sister had finished it, or rather they had actually put the furniture together. He had been so compassionate in knowing that getting Sheldon to move anywhere would have been an impossible task. She knew that with two babies they would eventually have to move anyway but she wasn't even broaching the subject until the twins were walking and talking, giving her plenty of time to prime him for the experience. In the meantime he had resumed his normal work schedule and she had taken to full time motherhood. Or rather had attempted to take to motherhood.

For a first time mother one baby was a challenge and trying to single handed care for twins (one whom spent more then half the day screaming inconsolably with no apparent end in sight) was proving to be another failure she could add on to the long list of failures she seemed to be composing since moving to California. She worried about money while Sheldon chided her about having more then enough money to support their little family on one income for a good measure of time. So she attempted being a housewife, she tried to feed one while comforting the other, or change one while the other watched. She had tried to nap but they were working in shifts. She tried to eat but they were always demanding her full attention, neither accepting anything less then her complete and utter devotion. She had nearly called Sheldon's mother a dozen times to beg for assistance. She had called her own mother once. And her sister Ruby five times. And her brother Max four times. Everyone told her it was normal to feel stressed. That babies were a serious challenge and that the feelings would pass. But nothing that said helped, Penny was a horrible mother and she knew it. All in all picking a name for their nameless son while her husband was home was low on the priorities list but it was another glaring reminder of just how poorly she was fairing.

She sighed to herself and found tears welling in her eyes. Everyday the same thing. He would come home. Ask her how her day was. She would answer 'fine' and he would go about his routine. Day in day out, same thing. He would fall asleep next to her in their room (which was merely his room with a double bed in it now). The twins would cry and she would get up and pace until the early morning.. Her mother had called it "polishing the floors" Penny felt like she had worn off the enamel and Sheldon would complain about one section of their laminate being off coloured. The worst part was that her children were perfect, everyone had said so. Their father was perfect (he said so himself). Other then their daughter being colicky everyone in her little family was perceived as absolutely perfect with one glaring exception.

"I find I am partial to the name Newton. What are your thoughts on Newton?"

Penny blinked back the tears, looking over at her husband and her small, small son.

"I think I don't want him to get beat up." It was the most honest thing she had said to him in the last week and a half and she knew it.

"Well that's a statistical improbability at best." Sheldon scoffed, not turning to glance at her but indeed looking down at his son in his arms, "I am sorry my young progeny but it is the price we must pay for genius."

"You know they might not be genius' '" Penny said hopefully. The thought had been rolling around in her head for weeks now. The slight hope that soon she really wouldn't be alone in this.

Sheldon reeled around, his eyes wide with shock and his hand reaching over to haphazardly cup the baby's ears.

"Don't be absurd." was the quick response and she lowered her head he couldn't read emotion very well be tears would definitely give her away, "I have worked out the statistical probability, considering our genetics and the element that my parents were definitely not genius' of my caliber, or really any caliber by even a loose definition of the word, the chances of our children inheriting my intelligence, while not absolute, is considerable, especially if you take into account modern research regarding nature and nurture and considering... "

"Sheldon, I have not had more then twenty minutes sleep in the last two days. My showers have consisted of running into the spray while the water is hot and turning around three times and then jumping out in time to pick up one of the two screeching little bundles of joy so excuse me for NOT GIVING A DAMN AT THIS VERY MOMENT WHETHER OR NOT I WILL BE THE FREAK IN THIS FAMILY! I DON'T WANT THEM TO BE GENIUS'. I WANT THEM TO BE NORMAL! I WANT TO BE NORMAL!"

The moment the words were out of her mouth she began to cry. Tears of exhaustion, frustration and just a horrible cochophany of unvented emotions poured forth from her body and she couldn't cope with it. The apartment felt like a prison and she HAD to get out. Automatically the young baby in her arms began to screech forth anew and Penny felt a part of her snap. Still aware of how delicate the screaming baby was she hurried over to a rather shocked looking Sheldon and pushed their daughter into his arms. Before turning on her heel and running from the apartment as fast as she could.

Leonard had not really been doing anything significant. Howard and Raj had left a few hours ago, he had made himself some dinner, eaten and cleaned up before settling down to watch some Battlestar and possibly go online and to see if anyone was up for some Age of Conan. He had been adjusting to being living alone. All in all it wasn't totally different from having a roommate. The only significant difference being the times of the day and how often he saw Penny. However his interaction with Sheldon was unchanged. They drove to work together, they sat together with the guys for lunch. Sheldon and Leslie would still snipe at one another then they would get together after work and play their games, eat their dinner or visit the comic shop. All in all not much had changed except for the nature of his relationship with Penny.

He sighed. It was hard sometimes. To see her, his idol, the most beautiful woman in his world, in the arms of his best friend. Still, it was better for Sheldon. No one had been more surprised at Penny's choice then Sheldon himself. While mentally superior, Leonard had never thought he would see the day when the completely socially inept man would have a wife and family. Well, not really wife. They weren't married yet as Sheldon had recently been pointing out. From the consistent way Sheldon was mentioning it in every conversation Leonard was sure his friend was going to remedy very, very soon. In fact Leonard was slightly envious of the good fortune, he knew both Howard and Raj were as well. His envy abruptly ended with his door being flung open and then slammed. There was an audible click as the deadbolt and chain fastened. It happened so fast he could barely make out the form huddled and sobbing at the foot of his door, blonde hair thrown around her face and her eyes hidden form view.

"Penny?" he asked in wonderment, completely shocked at the girl at his feet.

She lifted her head to look at him and he gaped. He had seen Penny in almost every state: terrified, happy, panicky, sad, sobbing drunk but never this before. Her eyes were dark and hollow, her face was torn in something so close to tragic that he could only imagine this is what Cassandra looked like right before Troy fell. Her hair was stringy and falling out of its constraints, her clothes were far too baggy and he could detect a few stains on her tank top and long flannel plaid pants. In retrospect he felt it was safe to say the pants were definitely not hers.

"Please don't tell him I'm here Leonard." she begged

It took him a moment to comprehend exactly what she was saying when the knocking began.

Knock, Knock, Knock

"Penny"

Knock Knock Knock

"Penny"

Knock, Knock, Knock

"PENNY!"

The last time was so panicked that Leonard opened the door around Penny. He did it suddenly Sheldon jumped back at the sudden movement, presenting a rather shocking image. It was one the strangest sights he had ever seen. His lanky friend was staring at him in wide eyed in terror, Sheldon's mouth seemed to be working back and forth, searching for the right words to say but finding nothing. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet, shifting from side to side nervously. However the novel thing was that in his arms were his children. Both seemed to sense the tension and were still and quiet but their eyes matching their father's almost exactly in both appearance and expression. Leonard found himself thinking that he had never actually seen Sheldon holding his children before and that they looked so much like him he would have called into question their maternity had he not been there.

"Leonard, where is Penny?"

Leonard took in his friend one more time. He was holding both the twins in his long arms leaving barely enough maneuverability to have knocked on the door. Behind them Leonard could see that the other apartment door was not closed, a testament to just how distracted Sheldon was at that very moment.

"I think she went down the stairs." he replied as he felt her tugging at his pant leg from behind the door.

"She left ?" Sheldon asked in what was clearly complete denial.

"I guess?" Leonard offered, rearranging his glasses on his face nervously.

"Unacceptable." he replied, "She wouldn't do that. Penny would not do that. These are her offspring. It is a biological imperative that she stay and care for them. I cannot do this alone. How will I feed our progeny? I cannot simply grow teats Leonard."

"Yeah well, I'm sure she'll be right back. You go home and call your mother. Talk to her, she raised you she'll probably be able to help you. Meanwhile, I will find Penny for you buddy." he stated as he closed the door despite Sheldon's rapid fire questions and obvious distress.

He waited a few minutes before hearing his neighbor storm away in a muddled mess and slam the door. Throughout the hallway he heard the faint cry of a newborn. Sighing he knelt down to look at the mess Penny had become. She had gained a little weight in the pregnancy but none of the guys had ever mentioned it. Leonard himself felt that that it suited her. In fact everyone had been really shocked at how well Penny had adjusted to everything. She hadn't seemed at all upset about the weight gain or when the Cheesecake Factory had forced her to leave. She hadn't been phased at the apartment exchange and all in all everything had been completely normal in their group right up until she had gone into labour. Even as they were driving and she was holding his hand so tightly he thought it would fall off she had seemed fairly cool about the entire thing. But now here she was, tears streaming down her face, and looking up at him brokenly.

"Penny what's going on?" he asked as gently as possible.

"I can't do this Leonard." she whispered, "I can't take care of them and him and everything else in my life. I am bad at it. I'm a horrible mother. I'm a still technically single and I'm a total failure as an actress. I just can't do this anymore. I need to go home. I need to go back to Nebraska with my mom and dad and sister. I just can't be here anymore."

"Slow down, slow down." he cried, holding his hands up to try and stop her from panicking.

Immediately she lifted to her hands to his, holding onto his wrists as tightly as possible. Her green eyes were wide and scared with tears making them shimmer. She looked both beautiful and pitiful at once. Leonard had to stop himself from just taking her face in his hands and kissing her just to ease her pain.

"What do you mean you can't do this? You're an amazing mother. You're wonderful at everything." he smiled at her, using her grip on his hands to raise her up and ease her into the covered couch she had left and he had claimed, "Now calm down."

She seemed to shake her head from side to side before breaking into gut wrenching sobs again. Feeling like there was nothing else he could do but wrap his arms around her and let her cry it out. In the end he ended up laying across the couch with her cuddled at his side. Holding onto her hands as he buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"He's so good at everything." she snuffled as she held her face against his throat "He gets along with the kids. I mean he actually gets along with them. Marie doesn't cry for him like she does for me. I know she's supposed to be colicky and the doctor's all said that all that screaming is normal but when he holds her she doesn't cry as much. I know its not his fault, I know it's not anybodies fault but Leonard I am going to lose it soon. They don't sleep at the same time, they don't eat at the same time. It's like they're trying to break me. I am going crazy and I hate them for it. God what kind of horrible mother am I? I hate my babies."

Leonard was shaken to the core. Her body pressed into his in a desperate sort of way, as if she were trying to merge with him, simply to escape her reality. This wasn't the Penny he knew and loved. She was hurt, beaten down and broken. He didn't know what to do or what to say to fix it but he could tell that there was something familiar going on. Alarms were going off in his head. There was something here. Something he knew, something he was missing.

"I just can't stop crying." she sobbed into his shirt, "I am a horrible mother. My son doesn't even have a name yet and I don't care. I DON'T CARE LENARD! HOW FUCKED UP IS THAT?"

it seemed to click as she said that and he did everything in his power to calm her. He kissed her forehead, ran his hands through her hair and cursed his best friend for being so self centered to not notice in three weeks what had taken him less then three hours to realize. As soon as Penny cried herself and fell asleep in his arms he did something drastic. Steeling himself he very awkwardly fished his cell phone out of his pocket and searched his contacts. He waited a few minutes until his mother's monotone voice echoed through his ears.

"Mom, it's Leonard. What can you tell me about Post Partum Depression?"


	3. Leopold

A/N thanks so much to those of you who are being super supportive. You are awesome.

Leopold

It was getting late and Penny was getting frustrated. The board was still sitting there; looming, just as it had been yesterday, and the day before that and the one before that. Spread upon it in Sheldon's small handwriting, were dozens of names and a large collection of marker colours and sizes. The variety of them was amazing. While some were common others some were very uncommon; some were right out of the question, while others still were so close to what she was looking for she debated just waking up Sheldon, his mother and sister and announcing she had made her decision. Then she would just pick something completely at random and go with it. Honestly she would have been fine with that but the decision was just to big for her normal shoot first ask questions later approach to life and she was more then aware of how HUGE this was. This was her son's name, the thing people would associate him with for the rest of his life. When people would say, "Wow he totally looks like a so and so" she wanted that blank to be filled with something absolutely perfect. Something that suited the tiny, blue eyed, brown haired bundle so perfectly that his name would just pop into mind when people thought of him. It needed to be a perfect fit.

She sighed. Staring at the thing was just making matters worse. In a fit of pique she got up off the couch and headed towards the apartment door.

Penny was exceptionally careful not to make to much noise as she eased out of her living room and made her way to the stairs in the hallway. The apartment was getting more then a little crowded and this was not the first time she had escaped into the hallway in the middle of the night for some much needed alone time. Not that she wasn't grateful. It was so sweet that Missy had decided to stay for a few days and having Mary around was wonderful. The extra help Sheldon's mother and sister were provided was priceless, especially with the PPD looming behind her like this dark shadow she just couldn't recall being a part of. Penny was especially grateful for all they were doing to help her cope with the twins. In fact, most of their friends and family had been nothing but supportive. It had horrified her when Leonard's mother had actually flown all the way down to Pasedena from New Jersey (at Sheldon and Leonard's bequest) to diagnose and treat her for it but she couldn't argue with the results. At this point the medication seemed to be working well enough and with the promise of allowing her children's brains to be scanned at the earliest and safest convenience she was the recipient of free online therapy. Penny was discovering that while she hadn't been a very good mother Dr. Hofstadter was an excellent therapist. She could look at herself in the mirror again without cringing, was getting through her days without weeping inconsolably at a moments notice and no longer felt the bottomless despair every morning had brought. Beverly had dragged her out of that particular pit almost single handedly, even if her reasons behind wanting to help was focussed on the promise of a joint paper with Sheldon debating whether the genius traits were based in nature or nurture it didn't change the situation. Simply put, Penny felt better. That withstanding, her advice on this matter was clear, she had told Penny that the first thing she had to do was initiate maternal bonding with her children, and a good first step in that direction was recognizing them as human beings and naming them. So Penny had decided that tonight she would name her son. Sadly, this was turning out to be a lot easier in theory then in practice.

Again she was strangely envious of just how easily Sheldon had taken to fatherhood. She had thought that this parenthood thing would be a situation where she would prove to be the master and him the he had named their daughter within the first few moments of meeting her at the hospital. By the time they had come home he had announced that as per their agreement (if it was a boy she would name it if it was a girl he would get the honours) he had chosen to name their daughter Marie Melissa Cooper. Marie after Marie Curie as well as a play on his mother's name - two Marys would be too confusing for his family- and Melissa for his twin, who for all her childhood torture, had defended him in his most desperate moments against their family, peers and the neighbour kids. When informed of his decision Penny could remember both his mother and sister had cried. Apparently Marie was also his Memaw's name although he had never mentioned it to her, his mother had told Penny rather proudly. The most unnerving part was that she did LOOK like a Marie to Penny. Her appearance and personality just screamed the name "Marie" to Penny. It was absolutely PERFECT.

Her eyes roved back to the door to their apartment. It seemed so long ago that she was just the girl next door and this was their common area. Her problems had been low wages, making rent, horrible boyfriends and no acting prospects; not the overwhelming sense that she wanted to abandon her new family and run home to Nebraska. It had all been so simple then: work, date, dinners with the boys. Her worlds had been separate other then the occasional time she and Leonard lost their better judgement. Then enter Sheldon. After a particularly bad night of watching Leonard go off with some woman that wasn't her she realized she wasn't nearly as upset as she would have been had she been stuck with Leonard while Sheldon was on a date. That night, it was like everything she had been trying to figure out suddenly made sense. And for the first time she felt confident and sure what she was doing was the right move, that Sheldon was the answer to a question she had been too afraid to ask. She had been so sure of herself and of him that she had leapt in with both feet and not looked back.

God, she wanted to feel like that again.

She heard the click of a door and braced herself for the intrusion. Mary and Missy were both determined to not let her out of their sight. They were like two very, tall guard dogs, always on her heels. Still they were much, much better then her husband. After Sheldon had googled PPD and discovered that in more extreme cases the mother could do harm to herself and her infants. He subsequently became obsessed with monitoring her state. It was only Leonard's mother's assurance that Penny was in no way an extreme case that he allowed her to be alone in a room. She braced herself for what was sure to be a Cooper escort back to bed or Sheldon in a panic that she had run off. Instead, the opposite door opened and a pajama clad Leonard crept into the dark hallway. She offered him a small smile and he returned it immediately before raising his hand, silently indicating that she wait for a moment. For the first time that day Penny felt her heart become a little lighter. While the tension in the Cooper household was going away with Leonard she was completely at ease. He had been her saviour in her time of need and her anchor in these new waters. With Leonard she didn't feel like Penny Cooper the mom or Penny Cooper the wife, she just felt like plain old Penny.

Her good mood was furthered when he returned with a pint of Lemon Gelato and two spoons. Popping the lid they sat next to one another on the stairs, silently licking their dessert and enjoying the unique peace that came with being awake at two in the morning.

After some fifteen minutes of silence it was Leonard who broke it the peace.

"Leslie's pregnant." he stated softly, "She told me tonight."

Penny shook her head as her mouth turned to a smile, she took another bite, "It must be going around."

She paused for a moment before looking at him, "You okay with that?"

He shrugged his shoulders helplessly and she nodded in understanding. She knew all about the Leslie/Leonard relationship and all it's ups and downs. In the three days she had refused to set foot in her apartment she had camped out with Leonard. He even ferried the bottles she had prepared for the twins to the other apartment and kept Sheldon calm enough to allow Penny the time she needed to sort out her thoughts. He was truly her best friend and without him she was well aware she would probably be drunk in Nebraska having destroyed both her relationship with Sheldon and her children. Instead he had seen her through her trauma and done what he could to help. Rather then driving her back to her childhood home and away from her future he had stood beside her and faced it head on, both during those days she was staying with him and a week later when she had married Sheldon in a little civil ceremony at city hall. He had been her maid of honour and Sheldon's best man. Listening to him was the very least she could do.

"It's alright to be scared you know." Penny ventured into the silence, "I mean I am still terrified. God, their so dependent. These tiny little people that came out of my body. I know that it's kinda weird to say it like that but it's totally true. I look at them and wonder how the hell I did that."

"I think everyone else is wondering how hell Sheldon did that." Leonard laughed slightly, "Seriously, no one believed he could actually reproduce sexually."

Penny found herself giggling, "Oh yeah, what was it? Mitosis?"

"I still think he's going to grow wings and fly away one day." Leonard whispered as he dipped his spoon into the pint again, he placed it in his mouth and seemed to think for a moment before speaking again, "Don't take this the wrong way but it just all seems a bit backwards. I mean, I always imagined it would be Sheldon sitting here having this talk with me about you. That we'd end up together. It just feels like we took a wrong turn somewhere and my life turned out as strange as possible."

"I know what you mean," Penny smiled, "That day I moved in, if you had told me this was what was going to happen I would have punched you for it."

"Nah, you were too nice." Leonard replied, "It took you at least a week before you were okay with threatening us with physical violence. Well me anyway, when Sheldon cleaned your apartment you threatened to stick your foot up his ass."

Penny grinned but let the silence fall over them. The two of them sitting on the stairs eating ice cream, it seemed to her like this was one of those memories that she would keep forever. She would remember it when the twins were in their teens and Leonard no longer lived next door. It would be something to treasure.

"You know it's not all bad, being a mom." she whispered to no one in particular, "I know the whole PPD thing kinda threw a damper on it but I think when we're ready for another one I'll know what to expect. I'll do better then I did with the twins. I'm kind of looking forward to it."

"You want to have more!" Leonard cried, "I would have thought two would be enough."

Penny found herself thinking of it. The words had passed through her lips without her pausing to consider them but now that she was she was surprised to find they were true. The thought of having more children was not something she had ever considered but now that it was there it seemed so natural that she knew it would happen. It was inevitable. It made her feel incredibly good.

"I hadn't thought about it before but I do." she whispered in awe, "I love the twins more then anything. I just look at them and I know that I'd do anything for them. It's like that Leonard. You know you're the only one I ever told about not wanting them other then Sheldon. About the whole possibly getting an abortion thing. I don't think I ever really thanked you for talking me out of it."

"You don't have to thank me." he replied around his spoon, "You're my friend, probably my best friend. I knew if I let you go through with it you'd regret it. Friends don't let friends do that."

"Exactly." Penny said, "Which is why I am going to tell you to go for it with Leslie. I know it's terrifying and scary and you don't really know what to do but it's going to be worth it. Even if you and Leslie don't work out don't throw away the chance to meet your son or daughter Leonard. It's just not worth it."

He stared at her, spoon in mouth and eyes deep with wonder. Then, rather unexpectedly, Leonard removed the spoon, placed his hand on the back of her neck in the gentlest way and pulled her towards him. To her credit she did not freeze or panic. The kiss was not romantic or sexual but it was full of purpose. Somewhere inside she knew this was their last kiss and just as memorable as their first. Penny thought of it as herself and Leonard closing the lid on the box that was all their own hang ups. Their love, the attraction they would always feel for one another and the realization that they were much better as friends then they would ever be as lovers. She felt the warm tears well in her eyes and trickle down her cheeks as their lips pressed together, chaste and sweeter then anything she had experienced before with Leonard. She felt more wetness on her face and realized he was crying too.

They stayed together longer then they had to but not long enough for either of them; not when the awareness of what they were doing remained unspoken and crystal clear between them. This was their end. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized it was necessary for both of them, they had never closed those doors and if they didn't that weight would always be there. Eating away at their real relationships and destroying the love they were meant to feel. She was so happy they were doing it together. When they did part he kept his hand on the back of her neck and they pressed their foreheads together. Soon the sadness dissipated with a small laugh from Leonard.

"What? What are you thinking about?" Penny whispered through her tears, her voice wavering with emotion, "It must be good."

"Actually I was thinking of the first time I ever heard you sing." He replied, "You were horrible."

Backing away suddenly she swatted him playfully on the arm, the huge shocked look she gave him did nothing to hide her amusement.

"I was not!" she cried indignantly.

"You really, really were." Leonard laughed, "and you made me watch that awful video. Even after we went to so much trouble fabricating that lie to get out of going to the play."

"You lied to me??" Penny's face was a mask of shock.

"Well I lied a little but Sheldon, well he went all _Sheldon_ on the lie." Leonard chuckled, "He was so paranoid that you'd research our alibi that he created the whole Leopold thing to throw you off."

"Wait a minute?" Penny cried, her eyes wide with wonder, "You mean there is NO Leopold? He was something Sheldon made up so that you guys wouldn't hurt my feelings?"

"I think it was more so you wouldn't find out and hurt us." he grinned, "You didn't ever figure it out? Didn't you notice that cousin Leo never made it to the wedding?"

"The wedding was in city hall Leonard, practically no one came. Plus, I figured he never kicked his problem." Penny whispered in awe, her shock embedded, "So there is no Leo. It was the first time you two ever lied to me, just so you wouldn't have to tell me I was a horrible singer. You know I figured that out after the show all on my own."

"Yup, but we didn't want to be the ones to tell you. Rather I didn't. Sheldon probably wouldn't have been able to stop himself." Leonard couldn't help but laughing, "It was so convoluted. The Face book, the blog and the listing on E harmony, going to Long Beach and then getting Toby to pretend to be his cousin Leo. Just to avoid watching you sing. I should surmised his feeling when I saw just how much of an effort he was making, the only other woman he had ever made that sort of effort for was Stephanie and that was because he wanted ME to keep dating her so we could have a Mc Coy."

"It's kinda sweet, in a Sheldon way." she mused, scrapping the bottom of the ice cream tub.

"I always wondered what the statistical odds of ever hearing a beautiful woman saying that would be." Leonard replied as took the container and spoon from her. He pushed the lid into the now empty tub before rising to her feet and looking at her, "If Leslie is half the mom you are then I don't have anything to worry about. Penny, I love you. Thank you so much."

"I love you too." she replied, letting him help her to her feet and wrapping her arms around him, " It's my pleasure. All I want is for you to be happy."

He contemplated the words for a moment looking at her, "I think I am."

"Me too." she answered honestly and to her shock she was. They hugged one more time before heading back to their separate apartments.

As Penny eased into the darkness (very careful to be extra quiet and not wake any of the five Coopers currently asleep and secure in their dreams) she crept to the white board where Sheldon had written all the possible names for their son. With a devilish smirk she used the dry eraser to wipe a large clean swath through the meticulous printing and uncapped the green marker.

The next morning, when he got up for his breakfast, Sheldon Cooper discovered (to his personal horror) his wife Penny had decided to name their son in honour of his imaginary cousin Leopold.


	4. Marie

Marie

Everyone knew Marie was his, especially Penny. So it didn't come as any surprise that Marie was speaking long before Leo and before anyone expected her to. She couldn't even walk yet but her first words came out loud and clear on a particularly grueling Halo night. Just as Sheldon and Leonard were about to deliver their death blow Marie managed to crawl/ shimmy the expanse of the living room floor over to her father's spot on the couch to give Leonard a puzzled glance. Penny did notice that Leonard was sitting in the middle seat, the place where Sheldon normally placed Marie when they were watching television together. Her daughter seemed rather irritated at this fact but Penny dismissed it. Marie had been finicky from the day she was born onward and her mother wasn't expecting a change anytime soon, especially considering Sheldon. In fact, Penny had just glanced over to make sure Marie wasn't bother anything when the small girl pointed Leonard imperiously before opening her tiny little mouth and demanding "WHY?" in the most commanding tone anyone in that room had heard in a long time.

Both men dropped their controllers. Raj and Howard took the advantage immediately.

However Sheldon no longer seemed to care, he merely stood and gave his full attention to Marie. From her spot in the kitchen with Leo on her arm Penny lifted her free hand to cover her mouth in shock. After all their babies were only three and a half months old.

"Did my progeny just verbalize a command?" Sheldon stated excitedly.

It was one of the only times Penny had ever seen him state the obvious. He looked down at their daughter and she smiled up at him innocently.

In a fluid movement his long fingers wrapped around her shoulders and lifted her straight up, keeping her at arms length. The footies of her pink jumper kicked in the air. No one commented that the babies seemed more then used to being held like this. Penny knew that the baby books she had bought for them were filled to the brim with observations, measurements, tests and experiments. Sheldon took his typical approach towards the children as he did to everything else he deemed interesting, analyzing and studying ever movement that made. Trying to decipher just how his children worked on every conceivable level. He held Marie, still at arms length, before he curled her into his chest. He zoomed to their bedroom with her in his arms and returned with a notebook labelled with Marie's name, the age she was when the book started and all his notes on her thus far. Penny nearly laughed out loud. Her husband was effectively recording every movement their twins made everyday, it was so sweet if not for being a little scary.

In her arms Leo spotted the book and held onto her shoulders a little tighter. He hated being measured and he knew to associate that book with something he did not like. Penny smiled, rocking her son back and forth in her arms. He sniffled and tucked his head under her chin and she beamed all around. At least one of her children preferred her.

Back in the living room area Sheldon had already cleared the coffee table, paused the game and had placed Marie in the center. Leonard had moved aside as Sheldon placed the books and pen onto the cushion beside him alone with a collection electrodes and machines Penny found marginally scary. She held Leo tight as she watched Sheldon hold Marie securely around the waist, obviously unsure as to whether she would topple over or not. It always surprised her that both the twins seemed to have take their appearances directly from the Cooper side of the family. Leo looked identical to a picture of Sheldon that Penny had seen when Mary had come for a visit and even now she could see him in Marie while she was starting at her father. The same wide round blue eyes, the same heart shaped face that Missy bore. She wouldn't be surprised if her daughter grew up to look exactly like Missy Cooper, in which case they were all in trouble. Even now she mimicked him perfectly, he tilted his head at her, she did the same. She did not giggle of smile like a normal little baby would but looked at him with the same intense, analytical look that Penny had found herself on the business end of more often then not.

Sheldon instructed Leonard to open the book and take notes and for a moment Penny remembered that these men were scientists, this was normal to them even if it wasn't anything close to normal for her. The writing was soon outsourced to Raj as Leonard was given the new task of attaching the electrodes. Marie giggled as the wires were attached to her forehead and temples although Leonard seemed a little despondent about it.

"Note subject seems amused at the outcome of events. Inclination of head and facial expression indicate either an interest in reactions to stimuli or inner ear infection. Weekly medical check indicates subject to be in good health with no previous symptoms of illness or infection. There fore, after a brief medical inspection post event, we can conclude subject is reacting to present human reactions in the room." Sheldon mused as Raj copied down his words.

Penny sighed, they did this every time Marie did anything. She smiled and wondered which of the twins was more intelligent, Marie for making her accomplishments known or Leo for doing it when they were alone. By the pattern she was keeping in their baby books Leo would probably start spouting his first words the next morning, most likely the moment Sheldon was out the door.

"Marie," Sheldon stated in his most consoling tone, the one he often used on Penny herself when he wanted her to do something she was just not interested in doing, "We would appreciate your compliance in this experiment. I would like you to speak."

Penny nearly laughed as the baby tilted her head in the opposite direction.

"Marie, you must repeat your initial verbal command," Sheldon stated.

Penny watched her daughter shove her little first into her mouth. Sheldon repeated his instructions with the same result before giving the baby an annoyed look.

"If you wish to become a scientist you must be aware of research methodology Marie. So far your lack of compliance is certainly not heartening. If you keep this up you will end up in experimental research not theoretical." Sheldon suggested with a raised eyebrow, "Tell me, is that what you want?"

Marie shoved her little first further into her mouth.

"Sheldon, leave her alone." Penny piped up, a Sheldon-esque threat was still a threat, "She'll talk when she's ready."

"That's exactly the kind of laissez-faire parenting I am hoping to avoid Penny. If we don't set standards for our children they will never achieve anything substantial." he sighed, "I have very high hopes for Marie."

It was Leonard who sighed and moved onto the middle cushion more firmly, shoving the remained objects to the side and sitting directly in front of Marie's line of sight.

"Come on Marie, say hi for Uncle Leonard." Leonard cooed at her as he waved his hand, "Hi!"

"Leonard she is an infant not a moron. I do not appreciate you insulting my daughter's intelligence." Sheldon snapped.

Penny found she was more interested in Marie's reaction. The moment Leonard had moved onto the middle cushion her little face had scrunched in a miniature of Sheldon's expression when he was exceptionally angry. She pointed her little hand again at Leonard.

"WHY?" she snapped, looking at her father for an answer.

"Leonard you must move." Sheldon nodded, "You are in Marie's spot."

There was no question to her demand nor the reality she would keep demanding it until he relented. Leonard moved instantly and her face morphed back to that of a pretty, happy, little baby.

Penny broke out in hysterical laughter.

Sheldon noted that the arise of verbal expression had been caused by outward stimulus.

Leonard prayed to whatever gods he could think of that Leo was a great deal different from his sister.


	5. Leslie

A/N Again thank you to everyone for being so awesome.

Leslie

It all started when Leslie had asked to babysit the twins for a night Penny had been cautious. Leonard had been smart with the subject, approaching her first and winning her to his cause before conspiring with her so they could collectively launch a full frontal assault. When it came Sheldon, he of course, had been visibly upset about the prospect of leaving the twins for a night, especially in the care of Leslie Winkle. Within a few moments of the initial presentation he was pushed to the point of flat out denying that he would ever allow it to happen before storming into their bedroom with the twins in his arms. Penny had had to wait until supper time for them to emerge but when her opportunity came she opened up the floor for discussion by highlighting the fact that she hadn't been out of the house alone with him since the babies were born and she needed this. They needed this. She had spoken to both her mother and her sister and that reaffirmed that spending all your time with the children did not help the adults in the relationship. She also stated that privacy had its benefits and there were certain activities that were hard to fully enjoy when the slightest noise could wake up two screaming toddlers. Once Sheldon pieced together how important this was to her he was slightly more open to hearing the proposal, so it was through these means they found themselves sitting in Penny's old apartment while he listened patiently to Leonard and a fairly round Leslie propose an experiment.

Leslie's main argument centered around practical application. She wanted the experience of taking care of twins, even if only for a few hours. She wanted to see what it was like considering that she would not be giving birth to multiples and they were never seen in either of their families so this would probably be her only chance. She also mentioned to Sheldon that as soon as her own infant arrived and as the twins grew older her window of opportunity would be gone.

Penny had previously noted that Leslie seemed a little unsure of actually being in the company of the Leo and Marie. Even with their children sitting there on their respective laps, babbling at one another in their baby talk Leslie was fidgety. Leonard took command of the conversation, explaining that Leslie was an only child from older parents, her experience with babies was non existent. It would mean a great deal to them if she be allowed to watch the twins and get a taste of parenthood. Penny shot her friend a look of confusion, admitting to a paranoid Sheldon Leslie had no babysitting experience was not something she would have ever done, when she and Leonard had talked about this they had decided on a plan of attack. She wasn't sure if this would work.

Leonard didn't seem phased even as the tall physicist began to sputter rebukes. He plowed on into emotional territory with statements like: how much it would mean to them, how much he loved the twins and then the trump card. He mentioned that Sheldon and Penny had not had the chance to celebrate their marriage because of the twins. A honeymoon had been completely out of the question but a romantic dinner would have been rather nice wouldn't it? Wasn't Penny worth that? She wanted this after all.

It was a rather beautiful death blow if not completely immoral, Penny smiled to herself, as she felt Sheldon's eyes settle on her with what she knew was deep affection. Normally she probably wouldn't have let Leonard manipulate him like that but she wanted this night alone with her husband so much she was willing to let it slide. With one set of grandparents in Nebraska and another grandmother in Texas the only way to get a night off was to hire a babysitter. For Sheldon the idea of asking a strange teenage to come into their home and watch over his children was like asking him to cut off his fingers one by one and smile while doing it. Penny was certain this was the only way they were going to get any sort of privacy in the foreseeable future. She felt a brief stab of guilt for what she was doing but it was really for both of their best interests.

So Sheldon agreed and she and Leonard arranged a baby drop off to take place the next day (which was a Friday) at 7:00pm.

When the Coopers showed up at the door of the apartment it was quite a sight. Penny held Leo tightly in her arms as he beamed at the closed door of 4A. He was already in his little Batman pajamas (complete with tiny cape and cowl), bright blue eyes wide and thrilled at the break in routine. The moment she opened the door he reached out his arms to Leonard who gratefully took the little body and balanced him on his left him.

"He's excited, been nattering all day about going to Uncle Leonard's and watching movies for the night." Penny smiled dismissively, as if her nine month old having full conversations with her was a completely normal thing. Leonard surmised it was, "Sheldon's getting Marie ready, they should be out in a minute."

After the obligatory exchange of schedules (and her handing over Sheldon's twenty three page "guide to babysitting MY children" duo-tang to an exasperated Leonard) they made small take until he piped up with new information.

"Oh I should warn you my mother's coming to visit us this weekend." he said seriously as he jostled Leo.

"OH NO." Penny whined. Beverly Hofstadter came to visit Leonard and Leslie but stayed to study Penny and the twins. Whenever she was in town (and now that Leslie was pregnant it was becoming more and more common) she was found jumping between the two apartments with her Lab book under her arm.

"You're lucky. She loves Marie and Sheldon's thrilled to just entertain them all day long with brain scans and rock band. So the only one you have to worry about is Leo. Speaking of which would you like the accompany Leslie and I to our prenatal shopping trip this Saturday. It'll provide a sustainable alibi as to why you're going to be fleeing the city." Leonard smiled.

"I would love to." Penny replied before hearing a small noise, she looked over her shoulder towards their apartment.

Marie was standing in the doorway of their apartment in her Wonder Woman pjs, supported against the door jamb with her sharp eyes focused on them. Penny sighed in both exasperation and pride. Her daughter was absolutely beautiful, everyone said so. Her lily white skin and heart shaped face gave her the look of a delicate china doll. Penny herself had been one of those cute gerber babies, chubby and ruddy cheeks with golden curls and full of fat. Marie would never look like that. Even at birth she was long and lean. She had her father's wide round eyes with the same deep blue colour that always caught Penny's attention. Her own lips were transfixed on the little face giving the girl that doll like appearance that was topped with twisting baby curls. Penny believed her daughter had taken all the secret beauty and grace that could have been hidden within Sheldon and had forced it to bloom. Sadly, Marie had also inherited her father's personality, his stubbornness and his neurosis. She held tight onto the doorframe, looking completely distrustful of the hallway and the apartment across it.

"Sweetie look it's Uncle Leonard." Penny cooed, "You're going to go over to his apartment tonight."

"Why should I go there?" was her reply.

Penny tried to hide her exasperation. Marie had learned to speak early and had soon graduation to the most annoying form of speaking possible. At five months she was unstoppable. She must have learned it straight from Sheldon.

"Uncle Leonard's watching you and Leo tonight." Penny explained as patiently as possible, "So you need to come over here to his apartment."

"I want to stay here. In MY apartment." her voice went up a little, tinkling like the sound of bells.

"Sweetheart, we talked about this remember? You can't stay there because Mommy and Daddy won't be there. We are going out. You have to stay in Uncle Leonard's apartment." Penny spoke in long even tones.

"Why?" Marie demanded.

It was her favourite word.

"Because you're a little girl and little girls can't stay home alone." Penny tried.

"I sleep alone." was Marie's answer, "You're not there when I sleep."

"Yes I am. You just can't see me. And your brother is in the room with you when you sleep." was the answer Penny gave that left her little daughter thinking hard. She thanked God that she was still smarter then the girl although she knew that she would be completely outclassed by the time Marie had gotten out of diapers.

"I want to stay here. Uncle Leonard can come here." Marie offered after, what seemed to be, intense consideration.

"Sheldon can you bring her here please?" Penny called into the apartment as she saw Sheldon walk out from the bathroom hallway.

She watched as he appeared in the doorway, looking monumental compared to the tiny girl that barely came to his knees.

"She does make a point." He conceded but immediately scooped her into his arms the moment Penny shot him her angriest glare.

As soon as he was within range she took Marie from him and passed her over to Leonard who now sported a twin in each arm. Her daughter was compliant but obviously not happy about it.

"This does seem to be rather upsetting to her." Sheldon said nervously, "Perhaps it would be better to order in. Oh, we can get Thai, it is Thai night!"

Marie broke into a smile and Penny rounded on Sheldon who was grinning back at their daughter with self satisfaction.

"We are going to go out to dinner. We are going to have a good time and talk about something that doesn't have to do with babies, breast feeding or other kid stuff and then we are going to get home and go to bed. It shouldn't take more the five hours Sheldon and so help me God if you ruin this I will not be held responsible for what I will do to you." she whispered in a dark voice that was both intimidating and full of promise. She surprised herself

Sheldon's eyes widened marginally before he looked over Penny's shoulder at Leonard.

"We will return in five hours." he stated decisively.

Leonard smiled and shook his head.

"I'll see you then."

The hilarious part was that Sheldon actually seemed more then ready to go along with her plan. Penny noted that after the initial check to make sure his cellphone was on he allowed her to drive to the Chinese restaurant he frequented with the guys without any sort of annoying mention of the twins or of the ever present check engine light. They spoke about everything that they normally spoke about. Penny's efforts to get back into shape (she had used his employment at the university to gain access to the gym) the newest expansion pack for Age of Conan (neither had played because they were far to busy) and the next weeks schedule. The nights the boys came over didn't really change except Leslie was now a fixture and Klingon boggle had been regulated to Saturday afternoons to accommodate the time Penny would take the babies shopping or to the playground.

As they arrived at the restaurant, ordered and were seated Sheldon made an effort to talk about work, friends, the on goings at Caltech, his sisters and mother. By the time he had finished his latest update about what Missy Cooper was doing they were already half through their dinner and running out of things to talk about. Penny had checked her phone at least 12 times in the past half hour. Sheldon had gone to the bathroom four times.

In the end she was the one that broke. She smiled up at him nervously picking at a dumpling before remarking on something she deemed amusing that Marie had said earlier that day while he was at work. The nerves disappeared completely and his face broke into a cheeky smile.

"That is because she is a genius. I highly suspected that at least one of our progeny would inherit my higher intellect if only because it seems my genes are dominant over yours in both appearance and personalities." he retorted.

"I wouldn't start counting your chickens yet.." she answered with just as much cheek, "It's looking more and more like your son is more interested in following my simple footsteps then reaching for the greatness that is Sheldon Cooper."

In her mind Penny chastised herself for forbidding discussion about the twins. It wasn't that they didn't have anything to talk about, it wasn't that they couldn't connect. It was simply their interests had changed. He still loved science and nerdy things, she still loved acting and shopping but their minds had been eclipsed by something new. And while they were talking about it she realized that there wasn't anything wrong with that. She looked at him picking at the eggroll, making under his breath comments about how he never ordered them. His brow was furrowed in concentration and she shook her head realizing that her mind immediately brought up an image of her own daughter learning how to write her name for the first time. The smile that burst across her face must have been significant because Sheldon looked up at her curiously and gave her one of his own before resuming his study of the eggroll. The impulse hit her almost immediately and whatever else Penny was she was impulsive. Leaning against the table she tapped Sheldon on the forehead and the moment he looked up at her she pressed her lips to his.

The kiss wasn't their most passionate nor was it sexually charged but it was sweet and she could see his eyes widened in surprise. They weren't really into PDA's but she felt, as his wife, it was her prerogative.

"I love you Dr. Wackadoodle." She grinned, leaning back into her seat but keeping her hand against his cheek for a minute, "A lot more then you know."

"Penny is there some unpleasant reason why you are telling me this right now?" he asked, his voice was carefully measured.

"What?" she asked her own features become rather contorted.

He looked up at her imploringly, fiddling with his chopsticks for a moment as his brain struggled to put whatever it was thinking into words.

"From my research and from past experiences- not my own mind you- loved ones often deliver bad news by prefacing it with some form of affectionate statement or pleasantry. The level of the pleasantry often correlates to the level of the bad news. For example if you were to buy me a new wireless router I would assume one of the children would have broken one of my belongings for example, our batman cookie jar. Not that a router could fully replace the value of the cookie jar although it would be a valid start." he began, then looked at her intensely, "I understand that we've been having difficulties but I would implore you not to make any rash decisions despite that being your normal approach to any sort of challenge presented to you. Even thought our attempt to discuss anything but out children was a failure I feel it does not reflect badly on either of us."

Penny's mouth dropped, she took a moment to admit to herself that no matter how close she got to Sheldon she would never fully understand him, "I'm sorry sweetie but you're going to have to explain to me what the hell you're talking about?"

"Penny, although it may be hard to believe I find that our relationship has been irrevocably integrated into my daily life. And while I believe gratuitous public displays make a mockery of the partnership we have forged and our discussions and interactions seem centered on our children I find that I would not be adverse to making an effort to correct any error I may have made on my part in regards to my roles as husband and father. I have spoken to my mother and sister and understand the concept of alone time although, I must admit, my adversity towards having alone time with you is not a reflection of my feelings towards you rather, it reflects my desire to be with our children. " his voice was low as if he were trying not to calm her, "So if this sudden desire to be alone is an excuse to speak with me privately about your dissatisfaction with me then I would ask you to give me more time to remedy the problems between us."

Penny blinked and then felt tears well up in her eyes.

"You think I'm going to break up with you?" she gasped.

"Well considering you told me you love me I would think my formula predicts the news will be immensely unpleasant." he answered, " I am taking into account the problems you've had with adjusting to familial life. Certainly, I am not openly stating that those issues are your fault. I am simply presenting my argument against you're leaving before hand. Unless it is something else." his paused then his eyes widened comically, "Oh no, are we pregnant again? I love our children but Penny, please I don't know if I can handle another change right now. Not to mention... "

"Sheldon sweetie, slow down, stop..." Penny sighed, taking his hands from the center of the table and holding them in her own, "I am not leaving you and I am most definitely not pregnant. I don't have bad news, I told you I love you because I love you."

"Oh," he replied, "Well, that's a load off my mind. Thank you. I love you as well."

"Wait, wait, have you been worried about this since the whole PPD thing?" she asked, watching as he tilted his head at her again, "Did you think that's what this entire night was about?"

"Of course." he stated, "You tried to leave once before, and earlier when we were leaving Leonard's you were so insistent on being alone. I surmised you either had bad news to tell me or were growing weary of parenthood and wanted to be away from the children."

"I just wanted to spend some time alone with you." she answered honestly, still holding tight to his hands, "I love the kids and being around them is amazing. I love being a part of this family but sometimes I just want to be with you. One on one. We never really get the chance, it's always friends and work and the twins and sometimes we just fall asleep without talking. I miss you. I just don't want the only thing we share to be the kids then when they grow up and leave we realize that we don't really even have anything in common."

Sheldon gave her words serious consideration before he answered steadily, " That's simply foolish. You will never have to worry about that. We never did have anything truly in common to start with but it hardly stopped me from falling in love with you, even when I was determined not to. If the twins grow up and pursue their own lives you will still be a part of mine. However, I grant that you're fear of not spending enough time together is somewhat valid and if it is important to you I will endeavor to schedule 'one on one' time on a semi regular basis. Besides when the twins leave I am sure we can find something to fill our time, we can restart Penny Blossoms if you like. Now can we please go home. I no longer want these eggrolls and it's getting late."

Penny smiled, releasing her hand and brushing the unshed tears from her eyes.

In the end they got the rest of the meal to go and went home early. An hour and a half later the two short breathed Coopers emerged from the bedroom and walked across the hall to retrieve their twins from rather flustered and tired Leonard and Leslie. The rest of the night was spent watching old Batman cartoons on the living room couch. Later, when Penny realized that Marie had fallen asleep with her head on her lap and that Leo had done the same to Sheldon the two smiled at one another in perfect accord before lifting their children up and tucking them into their respective beds.


	6. Memaw

_A/N First just want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews and criticism, it is both very appreciated and loved. _

_Also there were a lot of concerns about the twins ages and how children that young could be developing so quickly. While I have addressed a bunch of these personally I thought I would just throw my reasons out there. _

_The first reason I made them develop so quickly so young was that Sheldon himself seemed to develop at an accelerated pace. (solving the area under a curve as a toddler and being able to breakdown and identify the liquid in the magic eight ball at age 4) Looking at this curve of learning, as well as many of the other gifted children I have worked with I decided to model it after them. _

_The second reason I used these ages was that myself, my brother and my sister all spoke in full sentences at 5 months and walked early as well (my brother at 4 months myself and sister at 5 months) Since I don't really know anyone with younger children I just went with those as markers._

_However since it seems that most people are having trouble with the ages since it doesn't effect the story at all I am probably going to edit and up them. I just wanted everyone to know why I chose the ages I did and that they weren't arbitrary. _

_All the best, I thank you all for reading and responding and much love..._

Memaw

It surprised him that it hadn't occurred to him sooner but when it did it came like a blow between the eyes. They weren't even at home, they were in Galveston sitting outside the double wide,aluminum home he had grown up in and his mother still maintained. The picnic table that had always been there with a large umbrella sprouting out of it in an effort to keep off the glaring sun. To Sheldon the entire thing seemed surreal, like something out of a made for TV movie. He rationalized the only reason they were there was because of the symposium that was taking place in the main room of the Meriott in town and if they had stayed in his hometown without acknowledging his family his mother would have torn him apart. In addition his family had wanted to see the twins, now ten months old and more trouble then they were worth sometimes.

So Aunts and Uncles, cousins and family friends were invited to meet the newest Coopers. He tried not to be insulted most of them seemed completely shocked that he had managed to father children and even more shocked when they met Penny who was, in his opinion, vastly superior in both physical attributes and inter personal skills then any of the other women who had married into his family. He decided to tell her so later.

It was when his mother's sister, his Aunt Marian, approached him with a smile and comment that his eyes were opened. She inquired as to how his work in theoretical physics was going. He gave her an honest answer and as always was exceedingly pleased that her eyes did not glaze over boredom while he spoke. Of his entire family she was the only other one with any sort of intellectual capacity that averaged above low to moderate. She was a Professor of English Literature (much to Sheldon's disdain) but justified it by saying that she was a great deal more romantic then he had ever been. He had always appreciated her interest in his academic career and her concern that he have a fall back plan (the medical trade) in case his initial plan proved inadequate.

"They're a lovely family Shelly," she mused gently, taking his hand in her own, "I am so proud of you and I know Memaw would be as well. She'd be tickled to see that little darling of yours, she'd be so surprised. I think you threw Uncle Mickey for a hell of a shock when he saw her."

Being confused was a strange sensation for him, "Why would Marie shock Uncle Mickey? Did she say something rude to him?"

"No such thing sweetie, she just looks so much like your Memaw it's hard for us to see sometimes. I mean, my mother's been gone for awhile now but just seeing little Marie there, the spitting image of her. It was both a little off putting and a bit scary at the same time." she smiled, before winking at him "You're probably in for a bit of trouble though, you're Memaw was quite the looker when she was a young girl."

Sheldon just sat agape, his mouth wide and not quite sure what to say. His eyes drifted from his Aunt's face to where Penny was sitting on the porch next to his mother and Missy. Leo was sitting on the table with his bare feet resting on Missy's thighs as she played some sort of clapping game with his hands. Penny was sitting with Marie on her left knee. He had no idea what Penny and his mother were speaking about but whatever it was Marie seemed interested. He noted her appearance was nothing at all like Penny's but now on closer inspection she didn't look all that much like Missy either. He had always assumed that his daughter had taken her appearance from his twin sister but now that he could see them both it, and it was obvious they were related, she was quite different. While Missy's nose had a slightly curved look to it Marie's nose was straight. Her face was gentler then Missy's and her a shade too light to be the brown he and his sister shared. His daughter obviously had his mother's eyes which were his grandmother's eyes if what his aunt said was accurate but she had a more delicate look to her. He was reminded of old movies portraying Southern belles and smiled at the idea.

"You should ask your Ma for pictures. Mary was the oldest so she kept all the photos when Memaw died. I wish one of mine had looked like her." she sighed whistfully, "But their all strapping young boys like their Daddy. Not an academic in the lot. Good for you Shelly, keep the dream alive."

His Aunt smiled and kissed him on the cheek before stepping away to join her own family (three blonde men that looked more like movie stars then the construction workers they were) and her white haired, handsome, husband. Sheldon had never gotten along with his cousins although his Uncle had always been exceptionally kind to him.

He was silent for the rest of the afternoon. His mother insisted that they stay the night and a tired Penny and the twins retired almost immediately, all three passed out in his childhood bedroom. It was then he approached his mother with both a sense of trepidation and curiosity.

"Mom, do you have any of Memaw's old pictures? Albums and other memorabilia?" he asked softly.

Concern traced itself in his mother's eyes and she tilted her head to side.

"Shelly you feeling alright?" she whispered, reaching forward to touch his face.

"Fine Mom." he replied.

"You're Aunty Marian say something to you?" she demanded shrewdly, "Did she upset you Shelly cuz she don't know when to close her mouth sometimes. Jesus help that poor woman."

"Aunty Marian said Marie looks just like Memaw." he stated suddenly, finding the words more difficult then they had seemed when he had rehearsed them in the bathroom mirror, "Uncle Mickey had a rather unpleasant emotional response to Marie's appearance. Aunt Marian commented on it and surmised that Marie's physical resemblance to Memaw is so extreme that family members would actually become confused upon seeing it."

A thoughtful look passed over Mary Cooper's face before she pressed her hand demurely over her mouth to hide her shock, "My Goodness Shelly, I hadn't noticed."

Mom, I don't remember what Memaw looked like."

He watched his mother's eyes go soft. before she embraced him, wrapping her arms around him. Sheldon stood awkwardly in the hug, never quite sure what to do. Penny knew enough to do all the work. The kids were completely different but this was old. His discomfort, this trailer, his entire history all summed up in this moment and his mother knew it. She pulled away and gave him a soft smile that was a mix of compassion, pity and fondness. She motioned for him to go sit on the couch and a moment later came back with her arms full of old books, yellowed with age.

His mother turned the page on the old album as black and white faces smiled out at them. Most were completely foreign to him, faces that looked vaguely like his mother or something like himself or his sister. Nothing Aunt that offered cause for alarm. Nothing that explained the emotional reaction he had had towards his Aunt's observations. He still couldn't understand it, the idea that he was not impartial to something was not completely new. He loved Penny, he loved the twins. He was totally impartial when it came to them. Still for some reason, the idea that Marie looked enough like Memaw that his family would react so violently at ten months was something he needed to look into. Something he needed to see. To explain. So far there was no more proof that something exceptional had happened other then his relatives amazing ability to drink.

"Oh my goodness Shelly," came the hushed whisper of the woman next to him.

He looked down and his eyes widened. It made sense that while his Aunt would definitely remember what his mother would look like she might not recall what her grandfather looked like. Apparently no one had. His long fingers ran over the tattered and yellowed picture. Aunt Marian was right, she looked exactly like Marie. But that wasn't what his mother was gasping at.

The picture itself looked old, like it was taken in the 1930's. The little girl in the picture was maybe a year, wearing older looking clothes, obviously hand sewn and not at all affluent. There were other children there too, some that bore a strong resemblance to his mother and various other family members but none so startling as the main pair. The caption was written in his grandmother's neat script "Father and me" with an indiscernible date scrawled below.

It might as well had been one of those novelty pictures he had seen people pose in. where they dress in old fashioned clothes to look as traditional as possible, although this man was not dressed up. He was wearing a white cotton shirt that looked decent although worn. suspenders to keep up darkened work pants and a brown leather cowboy hat that also looked like it was soft with wear. His arms were a great deal more muscled and even though there was a thick opened book at his side it was obvious this man was one of those men he had read about as a child. The men that made their living off the land. It was the face that had caused his mother to gasp and even now it was eerie. Suddenly he knew exactly how Uncle Mickey must have felt. It was like looking in a mirror. The young child who might as well have been his daughter was being held tight by a man who looked identical to himself.

Sheldon suddenly had a flash of memory, the scent of cookies and the sensation of looking up at Memaws gentle face as this very book was placed before him. In his mind he heard her explain who these people were, what these people were. How she had lived as a little girl. It was so surreal he almost didn't hear his mother.

"This was my grandpa Shelly," she whispered, "I never saw it. I guess because we never got to meet him. Poor man died in the war when Ma was just a baby. I remember her telling us about how lucky we were to know our Daddy when all she had of hers was pictures and stories"

"The resemblance is uncanny." he found himself muttering, "Slightly disconcerting as well. I had no notion that these pictures even existed or that a man with physical attributes identical to my own ever existed."

"Sweetheart, if I had known I would told you but let me say it now. I am so proud of this." his mother whispered and turned to look at him, running a hand through his shortened hair.

"Why? It makes no difference that my appearance as well as my daughter's is so closely connected to people who are no longer alive. What I am trying to understand is why it matters so much to others. What is so wonderful about Marie's extreme resemblance to Memaw. Why didn't it make a difference when everyone thought she resembled Missy? There is no logical reason as to why a genetic connection to Memaw would make Marie more like her or less like her." he inquired, his accent bleeding through the frustration, "It has no rational explanation."

His mother had a sadness in her eyes, something he had never really comprehended. He let her take his hand and look at him intently.

"Shelly, sometimes when someone we love dies we want so bad to have a piece of them back that when someone is born that looks like them it helps us feel like they're still around." she smiled, "I love that my Mama is alive in your baby girl. It makes out entire family happy that we know Memaw is going to live on in Marie. Just like Memaw was so happy you looked like her Daddy."

He tilted his head, taking in the idea . Not quite sure of the emotional element of his mother's speech he nodded as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheeks before heading off to bed.

Even as he watched her walk away his body stayed stationary on the old couch. Looking at the book in his lap his mind roved over what his mother had said. Perhaps she was right. He thought of what it would be like to lose his mother, to lose Missy and what it would be like to see them again. Perhaps Marie would have a daughter that would look like his mother. The thought itself brought a smile to his face before unconsciously before his hand shot up to his mouth. He hadn't even realized the thought had made him smile. The emotion that had risen up was completely strange to him.

He moved towards the bedroom, easing through the narrow hallway and to the light, plywood door. He eased it open as easily as he could, and slipped through the small crack without opening the door completely. In the dim light he could easily see Penny. Her hair spread across the pillow, drool collecting at the side of her mouth and her easy breathing all alerted him to REM sleep. On the floor, in a makeshift playpen were his babies. He moved quickly to the pen, looking down at them.

They were curled around one another. Their foreheads touching and their limbs intertwined. He imagined this is what they looked like when they were in Penny, what he and Missy were probably like. His hand ran over the old wooden rials and looked over faded images of cowboys and ponies printed onto the vinyl padded sides and the slightly ripped net.

Even in the darkness, he could see them. Their hair the same colour as his own, as his mothers and his grandmothers. He moved back towards the bed and slipped in next to Penny. She barely moved as he eased in. He found that he fell asleep very easily,


	7. Howard

Howard

Her sister Ruby had called earlier that week and had told her that she would be in town over the weekend; since it took nearly a days car ride to get to Pasadena from Omaha Penny was exceptionally excited to see her. Regardless of the inconvenience she was thrilled. Sadly, she knew Sheldon, Leonard and Raj had a three day Physics conference that they would be attending in San Diego, it was both very prestigious, booked months in advance and mandatory so she was stuck with the twins but it could not be helped so Penny Cooper did what she did best, she improvised. Because of this their initial plan of lunch and shopping had been scrapped in exchange for a rather cozy afternoon of pizza and movies (G rated of course) The upside to this arrange was it left Penny with plenty of time to go about her chores and time she would have spent primping was better spent preparing for the week ahead of her. Regardless of the particulars Penny was more then a little giddy at the potential of seeing her sister for an extended period of time.

Other then her 12 hour lay over when Penny had dragged her to city hall to witness her impromptu marriage (Ruby had been the only member of Penny's family to show). It had been years since they had had some one on one time, a complete 180 compared to what they had been like in Nebraska.

Being eight years older then Penny Ruby had taken on the roll of surrogate mother to her youngest sibling almost as soon as Penny was out of diapers. With both their parents busy managing the growing farm it was often Ruby that Penny remembered teaching her the most important lessons of her young life. It was Ruby who had taught Penny to tie her shoe laces, had taught her to ride her first horse, had shown her how to fix her first tracker, and how to shoot her first gun. So many memories.

When they were younger they had been so close, Ruby had been there to listen when Penny lost her virginity to Tom Stanton when she was eighteen, she had also been there to hold Penny when she had found out the bastard had cheated on her with her ex best friend Brittney Hayvers. It had been a two way street. Penny had been there as Ruby had gone on her first date, had gotten her first job and when she had been named Homecoming Queen (although she was so young it was in mostly a watching capacity). On her wedding day Penny had been the Maid of Honour and likewise, Penny had been there when Ruby had found out her husband was stepping out on her. She smiled as she remembered that night. They had gotten really, really drunk and when he had stumbled home , well, there was a reason Penny no longer kept a loaded gun in the apartment; fear that someday Sheldon might accidentally find himself on the business end of it.

Whether or not they were going to go out Penny was thrilled to see Ruby, to show off her home and her children and while she would have loved to go out just being with her sister was the important part. She wanted Ruby to see how happy she was and to share in it.

So, it came as a huge surprise to Penny when Howard asked to take the twins to the park for the afternoon. Freeing her up to go somewhere and do something mature with her sister. Actually, it surprised her so much she had dropped the bowls of baby food she had been preparing in the small food processor and sent everything careening onto the floor.. It had resulted in a spectacular crash with the contents spilled all over the floor along with large shards of porcelain and glass. She wanted to curse. The bowl had been a rather large glass mixing bowl that Sheldon had searched everywhere for. He was really, obsessed with the idea of homemade natural food and that there be as little plastic as possible in the process. He had explained it in a bundle of words that included things like, chemical residue, sterilization, and a whole bunch of other science terms she had blocked out in favor of the newest Christian Bale movie, Penny just chalked it up to him being crazy- an aspect of his personality she had long ago accepted. Still she wished he had been more into plastic, plastic didn't shatter, it bounced. Howard, for his part in the conversation, didn't seem all that concerned or even aware of the mess. He just kept right on talking.

"I've always thought about having kids so it might be good idea to yours out for a test drive. See how they handle. Get some air." he suggested, "There's a great little park around the corner, I've seen quite a few mothers entertained there en plein aire. I thought the twins would like it."

Howard exclaimed before he finally noticed she was on her hands and knees. As he bent down to help her clean she shot him an angry glare that had him instantly taking three paces back. Annoyed, she waved him off but continued to listen to his reasoning, she could always use a laugh.

"Didn't realize that there were so many girls at the park did you?" she smirked as she began to wipe up the mush intermixed with little glass slivers "That's kind of sweet of you Howard, looking to date a single mom."

"OH, I don't want to date them. This bird flies solo. I figure if they've got one kid their probably easy; plus single moms are always looking for a strong male figure like myself. It's like a grotto of beautiful nymphs full of daddy issues ripe for the picking." he cried, rushing towards her, stepping over the glass.

"They don't want you picking," she replied in exasperation, giving up on the goo and going for the larger pieces first, "Believe me Howard, no one wants you picking."

She gathered the biggest pieces she could as she moved towards the sink. She'd knew she'd have to sweep up the smaller ones before the twins finished their nap. Silently she cursed Howard. She could just picture Leo or Marie stepping on a piece of glass she missed. She had absolutely no desire to call Sheldon and tell him that one of their children had been admitted to the hospital and had required stitches. She tried as hard as she could not to be annoyed with Howard, who seemed totally unaware of the danger as he strolled (shoeless!) into the kitchen behind her.

"Penny my dear, once they see my amazing masculine attributes- not to mention my backside in these pants- they will be begging me to be their daddy." he flung his arms out dramatically to fully display the dark red skin tight pants and the silken yellow shirt.

She couldn't remember whether it was the mushy food that was still on the floor or the accidental smack Howard managed to land on her backside while he was displaying his clothing. Regardless, one of the two caused her to jerk herself towards the tall table in the kitchen and stumble. It all had happened it was so sudden that nether of them realized the situation they were in for a few moments. Simply put, they both just stood there for a moment, staring at one another as if they were frozen in time while the two of them locked their minds into the predicament before them. Both in the kitchen, morning sunlight streaming in through the windows, the vegetable smell of the spilt mush on the floor, the slight dripping sound of liquid hitting the laminate, a blossom shape of deep crimson and the long shard of glass now sticking out of Penny's belly. It was so unbelievable Penny forgot to scream.

_Leonard was speeding, Raj was ringing his hands in the back seat and Sheldon hadn't said a word. The taller man just held tightly to Leonard's cell phone as if the physical contact with it made their situation much better. They had abandoned their plans to attend Dr. Putnam Wrights lecture on the Ashakic Field theory the moment Leonard had gotten the call. They were still an hour away and the radio had informed them that traffic entered Pasadena was heavy._

Howard just stood there. His eyes widened as Penny just looked down in equal disbelief. The glass stood out in complete contrast of her white T- shirt (a now gruesome powergirl on the center) and the denim of her blue jeans. The blood that was quickly spreading across her front really did look like a flower with a jagged stigma in the center that was growing wild and out of control. He gaped, looking at her as her mouth worked to form words that didn't exist. She backed up and hit her backside against the sink. Wordlessly she sunk downwards into a sitting position on the floor, the other shards of glass had fallen around her.

_It was getting late, it had taken hours to get through the freeways and bumper to bumper traffic that seemed to clog every artery of the city. In that time Sheldon had said nothing, just looking ahead, tapping his knees with his hands and bouncing on the balls of his feet. Leonard had tried to call Howard but Sheldon would not give up the phone nor would he talk to their friend. Leonard was confused as to why but as they managed to near the hospital it was apparent that Sheldon's nerves had long since taken over. His head was jerking from side to side, as if his wife were to be found on the sidewalk in front of the Emergency Room exit, waiting for him. They were out of the car before it was stopped. Running over the asphalt, past the signs that highlighted this as the parking area for emergency vehicles only and practically shoving their way into the atrium. Sheldon hadn't even commented that Howard had called Leonard and not him. _

Howard's hands were shaking as he called 911. Penny had slumped to the floor with the blade still stuck in her belly, her eyes were wide and somewhere along the line she had slipped into shock. He moved to his feet and grab her a towel from the bathroom.

"Howard, please don't leave me." Penny cried, her pupils were pinpoints in a sea of green.

"I won't!" he replied honestly, immediately at her side once more. The bathroom long forgotten.

He took off his silk shirt, revealing only a plan white T-shirt underneath and pressed it around the area in an effort to stem the bleeding. Suddenly the first Aid classes his mother had forced on him with the hope he would become a doctor were looking a like ray of hope in the darkness. He was amazed he remembered anything at all considering he had spent most of his time looking down the instructors top. As he pressed against the wound she let out a sharp cry, her hands instinctively going to the shard and motioning to pull it out. The woman on the phone who had sent the paramedics had told him not to and everything he knew about stab wounds (which was a lot less then he thought he did- all RPG's and first person shooters considering) had said that the removing whatever the person had been stabbed with before paramedics were there would only cause her to bleed out. Still there was so much blood. He pulled his eyes away from the wound to look up at her heart shaped face. In her glassy eyes he saw pain but more then that fear and he couldn't think of a single perverse thing to say.

He dropped to his knees beside her and held her hand tightly.

_They practically tumbled into the emergency entrance, all three at top speed. The nurse at the front desk looked rather disturbed as they ganged up on her, all three speaking at once. Raj seemed to even forget she was a moderately attractive woman as he begged for directions. _

Howard sat next to her while they waited, her eyes wide and scared and his terrified. It had probably only been a few minutes, in the background he thought he could hear sirens but it might have been wishful thinking.

"I'm so sorry," he cried suddenly, "I swear Penny, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. The ambulance is on its way."

"The babies," she gasped her eyes glassy with tears "Where are they? Did you call Sheldon? Did you call my sister? She supposed to be here in an hour. She's in town."

"Your sister?" he asked wondering whether it was the shock or just Penny being Penny.

"She always knows what to do" her voice fell into a long whine, the same painful one she used whenever she was exceptionally upset, "Please I just want her to be here."

He smiled as reassuringly as possible and reached for his phone.

"_I'm sorry, you're going to have to speak one at a time and a whole lot slower." the nurse stated in a voice laced with irritation._

_One voice came out a great deal clearer then the rest, despite being thick with a heavy southern accent. Her words were quick and sharp, the words of someone who had been doing this for a long time and no longer felt the emotional drain that the job entailed. She looked up at them with bored eyes that quickly changed as Sheldon slammed both his hands on the desk and bent his body so far over it it looked like he would jump the counter at any moment. _

"_MY NAME IS DR. SHELDON COOPER AND MY WIFE WAS STABBED. WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?" Sheldon screamed. _

_Leonard starred, it was the first time he had ever seen Sheldon swear. _

Howard Wolowitz had never felt time stop before. He knew it was an impossibility of course, he might not have been a scientist by Sheldon's definition but he was an Engineer and a very good one. He had worked on the Mars Rover and the Space Station. He put complicated things together for a living, fixing them when they broke down and all in all making sure that things did what they were supposed to do when they were supposed to do it. When he had been sitting there he knew there as no way he could put Penny back together. They had told him not to take the glass out so he had just sat there and held her hand. Listening to her chat. Raj had said, a long time ago, she was chatty and talking seemed to calm her down.

So he had sat there, tried to slow the bleeding and listened to her whisper about her life. About her sister and brother and parents. About the twins and Sheldon and how much she loved them. How scared she was and how sorry she was that she had been thinking badly of him because he really wasn't all that bad even if he was a perv sometimes.

When the paramedics arrived the twins were already crying. They had been ignoring them, or rather Howard had been limiting their attention, running back and forth in an attempt to keep everyone calm. In retrospect they weren't all that long, they had probably only taken fifteen minutes tops but for Howard no wait had ever been longer. It seemed the entire world revolved around a star named Penny and that star was slowly going Nova. The twins were her planets, drifting out of orbit and it was his responsibility to make sure it was all working as it was supposed to. They they were damaged or destroyed in the process. For him this new role of protector was both terrifying and comforting. Eventually they had screamed so loudly that he had scooped them both up, made sure that he covered Penny from the chest down and placed the babies in the play pen that Sheldon had set up near his work desk so that he could write on his board and watch the twins at the same time. After seeing their mother, obviously pale and in pain they had clung to him desperately. The crying had started just after the medics arrived, around the time she had lost consciousness. Both theirs and his.

Sitting in the family waiting area was hell. The room was plain white with sea foam green trim and had glass windows everywhere. The chairs were metal benches with worn vinyl pads with little bits of stuffing visible through the cracks and seams. The small, fuzzy television had been set to Animal Planet but no one seemed to be paying any attention to anything that was being shown. Even Marie, who he knew loved documentaries, was silent on his lap, her small thump pressed into her pink mouth, her pink flowered jumper stained with red. He hadn't realized they were all covered with blood until after they had rushed Penny into surgery. They looked like a gruesome little family. He called Leonard and spoke to him in stunted tones. The words were so strange, so foreign it had seemed almost wrong to say them. Penny was stabbed. We're at the hospital. You should be here. Please bring Sheldon. Please Hurry. Simple, to the point and probably one of the most honest things he had said in the last fifteen years.

They were sitting for about half an hour in the waiting room a woman came in. She was beautiful, blonde and possessed perfectly, tanned skin. Exactly the kind of woman he would normally find himself drooling over. Today that Howard didn't exist. To his amazement not one pick up line came to him and as soon as her face came into clear view he could see that through her tears she possessed Penny's eyes.

"Are you Howard Wolowitz?" she asked in a hoarse voice, "I'm Ruby White, Penny's older sister. We spoke on the phone?"

Not one comment or remark about how Penny and her sister were both very beautiful and would be great in a threesome popped into his head, he could only nod at her impotently and motion that she should sit down.. The only thing he could think to say was that he hadn't known Penny's last name had been White and he told her so.

"Oh, it's not. White is my husband's name. Well, Ex husband." she said softly, taking a seat next to him and taking Leo onto her lap. She kissed the little boy's head and held onto him tightly, "Please tell me what happened."

And he did. He told her everything. From the guys being away and not inviting him to his attempt at babysitting for the purpose of picking of desperate woman. The accidental drop of food. How guilty he felt for not helping her pick up the glass even though he knew Penny well enough to now she wouldn't have let him. How absolutely scared he was that this was going to be it. His last memories of Penny would be her sitting on that floor in a puddle of blood with him not being able to do anything about it. How helpless and useless he felt and how he fixed things for a living but he had been at a loss in this situation. He told her more then he had ever told a woman before. About his mother and his childhood, everything came pouring out of him in a torrent of emotion he couldn't stem. His cheeks turned red with embarrassment, his breathing quickened but he kept going until he was spent and there was nothing left for him to say.

Ruby turned out to be a great listener. Giving him her full attention and commenting when necessary. He didn't know whether it was just her nature or whether she was grateful for the noise but it was exactly what they needed. No one wanted the silence that had been threatening to suffocate everyone in the room. Their small hushed voices were like little life lines in a stark white ocean of medicine smells, old vinyl chairs and the low quality droning of Animal Planet and they both held on as tightly as they could to these strings of reality.

_They were sent to a waiting room after ten minutes or arguing. Leonard hated hospitals. Even when he was dating Stephanie he had always waited downstairs or in the car. He had never gone up to the office, walked the halls or viewed the beds. When they had piled into the elevator he had wanted to be the strong one, to comfort Sheldon and keep his friend from panicking. As it turned out that job had fallen to Raj because Leonard himself was busy panicking. Ever since Penny had moved into the apartment across the hall all those years ago she had wormed her way into his life. First through attraction, then interaction then, after she had finalized her relationship with Sheldon, through confidence. She was literally, his best friend, and if something were to happen to her. If she were to .... well, he would be a mess. He wouldn't know what to do. He would be useless to both Sheldon and the twins, he would probably drown in his own grief. He tried to wipe the tears from his eyes as subtly as possible._

"Are either of you related to Mrs. Cooper?" a man dressed in green hospital scrubs approached them.

"I am." Ruby stated solidly, jumping to her feet while passing Leo off to Howard.

The twins had been mostly silent throughout the entire ordeal which gave Howard the impression that they were indeed as smart as Sheldon kept saying they were. They seemed to know what was going on. He hoped that for once Sheldon was dead wrong, if the news was bad he didn't want to have to explain it to two toddlers.

"There was a lot of tissue damage but I am more then happy to report that Mrs. Cooper came through the surgery successfully. She was very, very lucky. The glass missed any major organs by inches. These sorts of accidents are more common then you think. She's in recovery. You're more then welcome to see her if you like." he stated, before looking at the tears streaming down everyone's faces and became very uncomfortable "I'll send a nurse here in a few minutes to collect you and take you to her room."

Howard felt as if the world had been lifted off his shoulders. In that moment he forgot he was covered with Penny's blood and tears, he forgot that he was holding her whimpering children waiting for her most likely panicking husband to arrive. The only things that existed were himself, Ruby, the twins and the news that the horror of the day had been erased. Just like that, everything he had felt was fixable. The trail was over and they had all passed. He jumped to his feet, the twins still in his arms and let an exuberant cry of joy before a weeping Ruby embrace him.

Prayers passed through his lips from days of his youth spent sitting in the synagog next to his mother watching the Rabbi speak to a higher being. He noticed that Ruby was doing the same. Different prayers with different form but the intent was the same. She wrapped her arms around all three of them and cried harder then he had ever seen a woman do but it hardly mattered since he was weeping at that moment too. Sheer happiness and relief permeated every fiber of his body.

Then they heard the strangled cry.

The doctor that they passed was shaking his head softly, his features lowered so that all they could see was the scrubs he was wearing. He was muttering to himself something about never get used to those emotional reactions. When Leonard asked him where the waiting room was he pointed down the hall but did mention that the people in there probably needed a few minutes to collect themselves. Sheldon didn't even wait for the man to finish speaking as he bolted towards the room with the glass windows, Leonard and Raj fast on his heels.

The image made Leonard's heart stop. Howard was in the center of the room. He was holding the twins tightly in either arm while simultaneously trying to comfort a woman with long blonde hair who was crying very, very hard. Leonard wasn't quite sure what was worse, the fact that Howard was obviously crying himself, mumbling something or the fact that when they parted he looked more frightening then any horror movie Leonard had seen. The front of Howard's white shirt was faded to a rust coloured brown, as he looked at them he noticed the twins themselves seemed to be speckled with blood as well. They both looked tired, ashen faced and scared. He surmised that Marie had seen Sheldon because as soon as he was in sight her pretty, little face turned beet red and she began to cry and reach for him. Leo followed suit.

"Oh no." he heard Sheldon whisper and then followed by a rather horrific strangled sound.

"Daddy! DADDY!" Marie was screaming, not at all used to the fact her father seemed to be ignoring her.

At his father's reaction Leo had stiffed the screams to a pathetic whimpering that pulled at Leonard's heart. He moved instantly, taking the children from Howard and then rushing over to Sheldon. As if he were running on autopilot Sheldon opened his long arms and gathered the twins to his chest, holding them so tight Leonard was worried he would hurt them but instead they seemed rather put at ease with the tight hold and were returning it. Leo's little hands curling into Sheldon's shirt, his head against his right shoulder while Marie was still opening crying her little face buried into her father's neck on the opposite side of her brother. Never had the family looked more vulnerable.

"What happened?" Leonard finally asked.

Howard looked down, his eyes on the floor and looking pained.

"We were talking, she dropped these dishes and started cleaning up. We were just talking. I don't even know how it happened but she tripped, fell towards the sink and then it was there. This huge piece of glass, right through her stomach. So much blood. It wasn't like any of the video games." he tried to explain but it was the only thing that came into his head. It was all he could think to say.

Leonard turned to see that Sheldon's face had gone ghost white and he looked about two seconds from toppling over.

"We were so lucky." Ruby whispered to no one in particular, "She could have died. OH God she could have died Sheldon."

For the first time in two plus hours she let go of Howard's hand and rushed to where Sheldon was standing, blinking in succession. His entire body seemed to ease out of the shaking tension it had been in moments before, his eyes, glassy but still focused.

"So she's okay?" he asked very tentatively,

Ruby and Howard's eyes both widened dramatically before they realized he didn't know. Leonard felt his own heart untwist. Reading emotions was not Sheldon's strong suit and even he had had so many mixed feelings. After all, this was Penny. Their Penny. Penny's sister rushed to them and threw her arms around Sheldon awkwardly reassuring him as she had Howard, it did not have the same effect.

Before anyone could say anymore a man in green scrubs approached them and told them Penny was ready to receive visitors. While Sheldon, Leonard and the twins hurried to go (at Ruby's request) Howard stayed behind. It took him a moment to realize Penny's sister had stayed as well. They would go with Raj in the second wave. What he didn't realize was that she was holding onto his hand, and kept holding it for the rest of the night.


	8. Miss Kaley

Miss Kaley

Mrs. Cooper, I am so happy you could make it. I've been looking forward to meeting with you." the small red headed woman in a plaid apron smiled in a way that made Penny think she clubbed kittens in her spare time as she motioned for her to move into the small bright yellow office, "Please make yourself comfortable. Should we wait for Dr. Cooper and his, um, friend?"

It's really my pleasure to meet you," she replied as sweetly as possible "I wanted to talk to you too so it was perfect when you called. I think we can start talking without Dr. Cooper, he might be awhile."

The young woman nodded curtly, her hair falling slightly out of her bun. Penny already didn't like her. Both Marie and Leo had been despondent lately and when she had walked through the door of the Pre school niether this woman nor her two secretaries had even bothered to ask her what they could help her with. Granted she was wearing a plan white T shirt and her pink track pants but the way the woman looked at her had stated plainly that she felt Penny wasn't worth her attention at all. In fact she had just handed her card over and was practically shoving Penny out the door when she had mentioned her last name was Cooper. THEN the woman had changed. Now she was all sunshine and smiles.

"I can't begin to tell you how honoured we are that you and Dr. Cooper chose Happy Time for Leo and Marie. There were some worries initially but allow me to hope that you'll consider staying on with us even after you recover from your _accident_." she smiled in a way that seemed sincere, or would have had she not emphasized the word accident in a voice that made it clear no one thought it was.

Penny tensed, she could already sense this entire exchange going downhill very fast, but that was fine. She was spoiling for a fight.

The twins had been enrolled in the "Happy Time Pre School and Nursery" for nearly three weeks now. With Penny's accident still looming before them and her stomach not fully recovered it had been Leonard's idea to place Marie and Leo in a preschool, thereby freeing up some time for Penny to recuperate as the doctor advised while still ensuring that the twins were in a stimulating and safe environment. Initially Sheldon had been completely against the idea, dead set against having idiotic strangers with no more education or ambition then the white lab mice he tested on care for his offspring. However, after some non stop pestering on Leonard's part and a call to his mother (Penny's part) he agreed and began researching the best daycare services available. The Caltech Insurance policy had covered the hospital trip but still feeling completely responsible Howard offered to pay for the twins to attend for the three months that the doctor had suggested Penny take it easy and despite her best efforts to deter him he had insisted. So, after extensive research this particular Pre-School had made the cut and she had dropped the twins off in the morning and Leonard and Sheldon would pick them up on the way home.

All in all, Penny found the entire situation uncomfortable. She would have much rather had them both at home with her. While it was great "taking it easy" for a few days after about a week she began to get bored, the twins were a part of her daily life now and she felt their absence keenly. However, when taking into consideration all the fighting she had done to get them into the Preschool (first with Sheldon then with the administration that suggested "Happy Time" was for toddlers past two years old and the twins would be much to immature to handle the academic "fun program" and the heavy socialization element the school had to offer) she was a little sheepish about asking Sheldon if they could take them out. Plus, she had to admit she wasn't even half way to recovery yet. Her stomach still hurt like hell and even though the stitches were out the exercises and medication wore her out in the daytime. Her naps were medically induced and necessary. In her own mind she had reasoned the twins needed to learn more social skills. Leo was fine but Marie especially was dependent on her brother to do the talking. In Penny's mind the best thing she could do for her daughter was put her in a situation where she could interact with children who were as similar to her intellectually as they were going to get. It was what was best for her children. Still more then anything she missed the twins and apparently they missed her too if Marie's mood was any indication. For the past few weeks she had been extraordinarily quiet. Completely out of character for her which had Penny wondering if she had made a huge mistake.

Sitting down in the seat very, very slowly Penny. Watching as the pretty, twenty something woman sit down primly behind the desk.

The reason I wanted to speak to you Mrs Cooper is that we've been having some concerns regarding your children." the woman stated gently, folding her hands, "We here at Happy Time are more then happy to work through them but I think it would be best if both yourself and Dr. Cooper were on board. Still, you're children are a special case and I am worried about how to best facilitate their development."

"I know, I know," Penny sighed, waving her hand, "I get that a lot."

"The problem is Leo." the woman stated slowly.

"WHAT? There's a PROBLEM?" Penny gaped. She had just been prepared for the usual, we think your kids might be super genius' speech or the "You daughter says things that people don't like" talk Certainly not an actual problem and definitely not with Leo.

"Leo has been having trouble socializing with the other children. Especially since Marie has been placed in the advanced program. We've been a little bit concerned about his behavior as of late." she began slowly, "The main concern being bullying, which of course, we can't tolerate here."

Penny's eyes widened and mouth dropped. She wanted to both laugh and cry at the same time. Apparently at some point today she had stepped through the looking glass.

"Leo's being bullied?" she asked again. The woman mistook her shock for worried disbelief.

"Sadly no, you're son IS the bully. Things started out well enough until Marie asked to be placed with the older students who have entered the more advanced curriculum. We okayed the entire idea with Dr. Cooper. He seemed positive about it." she seemed to add that last part as a protective cover, as if Penny herself really was concerned that Marie was being placed in an advanced class, "However, following this both Marie and Leo have been difficult. Marie is seems to be unresponsive in classes while Leo is lashing out at nearly everyone."

"Wait? Marie is misbehaving too?" Penny asked, still in a state of disbelief.

Neither of the twins had ever done anything less then perfect and while they were still quite young it was hard to believe they were both being so disobedient.

"No more then she usually does." Miss Kaley replied in a clipped tone Penny decided she didn't care for "Marie is not a 'social' little girl and does not interact very well with the others. It's to be expected since most of the children in the advanced program are over five."

Penny gaped, "You mean she's been placed with children who are five times her age?"

"Why yes." the woman continued as if Penny asking the question was the most ludicrous thing she had ever heard, "Marie is very, very intelligent and when my assistant called Dr. Cooper he agreed that Marie being put in a more advanced class was necessary for her academic development. We're very excited about her placement and are applying for some of the grants we are now eligible for. I honestly believe Happy Time is a perfect fit for her! I think she is reacting to Leo's aggression and it is distracting her. All the people on our team have gotten together and made a few suggestions on how you might curb this behaivour at home and properly discipline your children. ."

Gently she reached over and pushed a yellow legal piece of paper across the table.

Taking it in her hand Penny opened the notarized list. She read through the first few lines before folding it in half and putting in her purse. She had never encountered another situation where so few words had infuriated her so thoroughly.

"As you can see we've really been taking Marie's best interests into consideration." Kaley smiled in a way that made her seem far to righteous, "We honestly think she has a bright, bright future with Happy Time..."

"Wait, wait..." Penny stated, " First of all I thought this place offered some sort of heavy social program thingy. That was the reason your people gave me and my husband for sending the kids here in the first place and why it was a bad idea. Second, you're telling me that Leo is acting out and Marie is in this advanced program and not talking at all? I mean, I know my kids. That's really, really strange. Isn't that kind of against what we were going for here."

The woman seemed to narrow her eyes and give Penny this sort of evaluating look. She had seen that look before. That was the same look professional people gave her when she was working at the Cheesecake Factory. That was the look people gave her with they found out that she was a college drop out. She KNEW that look and she actively ignored it.

"So, you mentioned an academic program?" Penny tried to look as clueless as possible.

"Oh yes." the woman gushed, "Our academic program is often reviewed by the most prestigious private school and grant boards in California. Most of our graduates end up going to best Private schools where they go on to the most prestigious careers in various fields."

"So the grants and the school boards give you money to have you send kids there?" Penny smiled.

The woman obviously sensed something wrong.

"So you're, like, a feeder farm for baby genius'? she asked, adding the edge to her voice. She distinctly recalled a YOU tube video she had seen of a mother grizzly beat the crap out of a cougar while protecting her cubs.

"Perhaps we should wait until Dr. Cooper gets here." Kaley said slowly.

Penny narrowed her eyes.

"Oh it's all right," Penny sighed in her most saccharine voice, "You can talk to him all you want. I think i got the basic idea of what's going on here. I'm taking my kids out. NOW"

Despite the blinding stab of pain in her belly she moved quickly with Miss Kaley following her, sputtering.

The playrooms were nice. Large airy places with bookshelves and brightly coloured designs on the walls, exactly the sort of thing she would have expected. Three very clean but looking people were monitoring the twenty plus children running around and from the large number of Purell bottles exactly the sort of place Sheldon would have liked. She spotted Leo immediately, sitting by himself playing in the corner with an action figure . He was the smallest of the children and his bright orange Aquaman shirt was a beacon. She didn't even have to call him. As if he sensed her presence his head shot up and fixed on her.

"MOMMY!" he cried the moment he saw her and rushed towards her at top toddling speed.

Penny omphed as he hit her knees and wrapped his little arms around her tightly. She was actually shocked at just how tightly he was holding on to her.

"We going home now?" he asked hopefully, his wide blue eyes a mirror version of her husband. She could only nod, "Let's go get Marie. Help me find your sister sweetie."

She noticed that a darker look passed over Leo's face, probably not something anyone would notice but she knew it. Leo took her hand in his little one and began dragging her towards a separate room. It was about this time the Miss Kaley caught up with them. Immediately, she noticed Leo had stopped leading her and had turned to hide behind her knees. She felt her anger level spike dangerously.

"Oh, Mrs Cooper. We would really prefer if Leo does not go with us to get Marie." Miss Kaley tittered, "We find letting the younger children into the academic area is disruptive to the advance stream students."

"Um, you know what. I'd rather not leave him here." she snapped, gathering Leo in her arms and hoisting him onto her as best she could. She was even slightly disturbed as he hid his face in her neck.

"Please Mrs. Cooper." the woman was now practically growling at her, "This would not be conducive example to set for the other younger children. Normally, if one of the younger children breaks the rules and steps into the Advanced rooms they are given a time out. You are completely disregarding the established rules of this institution."

"Younger children? Marie is younger then anyone here including Leo." Penny was barely keeping her voice in check, but she reminded herself she wasn't lying " You mean slower children. You mean not genius', like my son."

The woman seemed to sigh and gave her one of those tight fake smiles. Penny was sure she was keeping them in stock by the thousands.

" We like to give the older more advanced students the opportunity to study with other like minded individuals. To allowed them a supportive environment and the resources they need to achieve their full potential." the woman explained, "These _children _are a_ gift_. Not to just us but to the _entire world_. We need to support that."

Penny gaped. She wondered if Sheldon's old stalker Ramona had given up physics and become a Pre School entrepreneur. She held Leo a little bit tighter, swallowing her anger.

"So you mean to tell me that you've separated my children. Placed Marie in a group of children who are five times her own age to advance her studies while her twin brother and best friend is not allowed to see her or he's punished?" Penny seethed, "And you've decided the best way to fix the problem that both my kids are miserable is to complain to me about it, call me a bad parent and hope I punish them for giving YOU a hard time?"

Penny wasn't quite sure what happened at that moment. She just moved forward to the other room, literally shouldering the woman out of the way and throwing open the door. The room on the other side was probably twice as large with half the children. There were bookcases full of books of every description and small circular tables with small chairs where children were actively reading, doing work sheets with no less then five uniformed men and women supervising, and laughing with one another happily. She watched as she spotted her own daughter sitting by herself in a corner, reading alone. There were groups of older children that occasionally walked by. Three or four girls were shooting her judgmental looks and Penny found herself wondering if five year old could be judgmental. She knew that answer well enough.

"Marie." Penny stated softly.

The round little blue eyes widened, her head tilted upwards and looked around. For a moment Penny was reminded of Sheldon. Not the confident, arrogant and genius Sheldon but the insecure, socially inept friendless Sheldon. The one who had had no social life to speak of until he accepted a potential room mate named Leonard Hofstadter. The moment she saw Penny the little girl jumped to her feet.

"MOMMY! LEO! " she cried and bolted towards Penny the same way her brother had. There were tears in her little eyes, "Can we go home Mommy? I was really good, I did everything they told me, can I go home now?"

Penny didn't even say a word which she felt was a very strong and mature move on her part. Instead she nodded tensely and took Marie's hand. Immediately, she dropped Leo to the ground to hold her opposite hand and stormed out of the Happy Time preschool, determined that she and her children would never return. She didn't even acknowledge the cries of Miss Kaley nor the awed looks of everyone else in the building. Neither she nor her children looked back.

The moment she got home she called Leonard's cell phone since Sheldon's was conspicuously turned off. She wasn't too surprised, whenever he was deep into an experiment he turned off the phone and forwarded the calls to Leonard. She smiled through her tears, he always reasoned it by saying Leonard was not doing anything that really required concentration anyhow. She hadn't really gotten the chance to explain anything to Sheldon and she hadn't felt right speaking to Leonard about it. Plus her crying tended to upset both men. Honestly, it wasn't like she was sad or anything but she had been so royally angry that the tears had sprung forth all the way home and the more she thought of it the worse it got. It seemed that every time she felt her anger slipping all she had to do was look in that back seat and check out her babies, both looking at her with those wide blue eyes and there it was again, outrage renewed. She had hurried them into the apartment as best they could, made them a snap and had settled down grill her toddlers for information.

For two hours straight they wove their tale in simple sentences and colourful name calling (Leo) aided with succinct description of the on goings of Happy Time and just how miserable it made them (Marie). As far as Penny could tell there was no real abuse happening, just the complete exploitation of her children's special gifts and their subsequent alienation from both peers and those she had trusted to help socialize them. She also learned that the children her son was "bullying" also seemed to be the ones who would spend their time teasing and pushing around her gifted daughter. Marie, unable to determine why she was being treated cruelly and did her best to ignore, ashamed of her own ignorance. Leo, who seemed to realize what was happening all to well, dealt with the problem in the best way he knew how.

When Sheldon finally got home she could tell he was in a foul mood. He stormed in without even a glance towards the twins sitting on the couch with their peanut butter sandwiches and walked straight through the living room into the bedroom. from her place in the kitchen Penny watched it play out before subtly checking that the kids were distracted and slipped towards the bedroom.

Taking a deep breath and preparing for a full out Sheldon tantrum she readied herself and opened and door. She slipped in without incident and managed to cling to the wall as he paced around the room like a lanky deranged tiger. He was muttering to himself like he always did when he was exceptionally angry and Penny bit down on her lip. This was going to be one hell of a fight.

"Sheldon?" she asked gently, "Sweetie?" 

He rounded on her immediately and she prepared for the blowup but it never came. Instead she found his hands were immediately on her face, holding her tightly as his lips sought hers out. When they touch it felt like a spark between them. His pressed his mouth to hers hungrily, nipping and sucking in a way he knew drove her wild. Instinctively her arms came around to clutch at his head and then his shoulders, soon his hands were leaving her face, instead she found they were hurriedly untucking her shirt, careful not to press against her still wounded area either to lightly or two hard. The fact he got it over her head without her really noticing gave Penny a huge boast in ego, she had trained him exceptionally well. When they had first started he had been clumsy and shy, now he had her pressed into the door of the bedroom, pinning her between his elbows as his forearms pressed tightly against the door. As his mouth left hers to suckle at side of her neck and bite down sharply she stifled a moan. Seeing her conundrum he moved back to her mouth, pulling her form the door and twirling them around and lowering them to the bed. The television program the twins were watching would keep them busy for at least fifteen minutes and the baby monitors echoed a romantic soundtrack of their children chattering.

Honestly she could say it was the best argument they ever had.

After they had hurriedly dressed and headed back into the kitchen/living room area in time for the end for whatever brain deadening show the twins were watching it was business as usual. Penny smiled as she ordered the pizza and texted the boys to make sure everyone was coming to their apartment for a rousing night of Vintage video games. It still shocked her, spontaneity was definitely not Sheldon's strong point but he had been known to surprise her when he felt the situation warranted it. After checking in with the children and speaking to them in hushed tones he moved to where Penny was setting up the plates and glasses for dinner. She turned to look at him and with one raised eyebrow asked the question without ever voicing it.

"When Leonard informed me of your argument with Miss Kaley at the Pre-School I insisted we inspect the situation first hand," he began, moving behind her and placing his hands on her hips, "I spoke to Miss Kaley directly and she explained to me that you were emotionally distressed at the caste-like system the Preschool employs towards the students of higher potential and those whose pursuits can best be described as examples of mediocrity. I will admit that I was aware of the system and actually, I felt it would be a good experience for our children to be recognized for their gifts instead of being lumped in with the lemmings of the human race. I did not consider the derogatory effects."

Penny turned in his arms, letting them frame her body. He wasn't even looking in her eyes, instead keeping his eyes down.

"I had never considered that one of our children would be excluded." he stated, "Or that the program would not be beneficial to Marie. I found that while this foul treatment of our son infuriated me the description of you're storming the bastille as it were in an effort to protect the well being of our children was both arousing and heartening. I apologize if my forthrightness caused some confusion but those instances remind me just why I chose you as an ideal marriage partner and mate."

"Thanks." she laughed, "Sometimes I forget why you did me that favour."

He gave her a knowing smile,"I feel that once I explain the situation to Miss Kaley, perhaps show her the aptitude tests I have given Leo, they might reevaluate his position in the Advanced program."

Penny took a long suffering breath.

"Sheldon..." she whined closing her eyes in exasperation, "You're missing the point! Marie hates it there, she says the other kids are mean to her and from Leo was telling me I think its because she's in the Advanced program. Leo's not doing any work. He's more focused on protecting Marie"

"Well that's simply foolish. He should be focused on his own academic achievements." Sheldon replied, "No wonder he is in the common program, he must learn to focus his efforts."

Penny sighed, " He was worried about Marie. He's her big brother Sheldon, he feels responsible for her. You have to get that!"

He stopped and stared at her, his face twitching in that way it did when he was confronted with something he completely didn't understand.

"Marie isn't good with people." she stated giving him a pointed look, "She needs Leo around to help her. She needs Leo to tell her what to do. Kinda like you need me Sweetie."

Sheldon's eyes widened slightly before he nodded. She moved toward him and wrapped her arms around his slender waist, tucking her head underneath his chin and pressing her cheek to his chest. She could hear his heart thrumming beneath her ear and she closed her eyes and let the rhythm soothe her.

"They're both going to have their entire lives to be different." Penny whispered gently, "I know they're more like you then me but just for now, just for while they're so little, can't we keep there here? Where it's safe? Don't you remember what it was like when you were a kid? How out of place you felt? Here there are people who understand how special they are and aren't going to use them for it."

The door suddenly opened with Howard, Raj, Leonard, and a very pregnant Leslie tumbling into the room,. Immediately the twins were on their feet, Leo being scooped up by Howard, Marie by Raj, as Leonard helped Leslie onto the couch. Penny smiled at Sheldon happily. He looked at her knowingly before discreetly placing a kiss on her temple then setting off to join their friends.

The next morning Penny woke up to the twins climbing into bed next to her and the sound of her husband shutting their bedroom door before leaving the apartment and heading out to work. As she listened for the tell tale silence that he had indeed vacated the apartment she looked at the two dark brown heads burrowed into the blankets on their double bed and wrapped her arms around them. She knew they would be up soon and she would probably have to work out something to keep the kids in check while she was recovering but at that very moment Penny Cooper couldn't have been happier.


	9. Mrs Vartabedian

Mrs. Vartabedian

No one really knew anything specific about Mrs. Vartabedian. She was just there; an older sort of lady who looked like the generic grandmother that everyone had seen pictures of in books or magazines. The few things Penny had gathered about her could be filled in a small book or in some cases a very short conversation. She was actually quite nice, always well dressed in these pretty floral prints with a pale matching knitted shawl around her shoulders. The two always matched Her hair (while white) was always well kept and very neat. She always remembered to say hi and bye and was in good shape as Penny had witnessed that she was certainly well enough to take on the stairs daily without any sort of distress Still, Penny, Leonard and Sheldon had actually lived in the building for years and despite Leonard's lies ( that he had had cereal with he on occasion) no one had really bothered to get to know the old lady. Until Leo learned to take on the stairs.

Mrs. Vartabedian had always been kind to Penny, from the moment she had climbed the stairs to look at Apartment 4A to the time she waddled down the stairs pregnant and single to the day she came home to 4B with the twins and Sheldon in tow. Mrs. Vartabedian had never judged and had been sweet enough to send meals and treats to the young woman up the stairs. Penny could recall talking the lady to her when she was sure no one else would and being just overall a good nieghbour. Strangely it was the twins who had immediately taken a liking to her.

The fact Leo learned how to climb and descend stairs earlier then Marie did not surprise Penny at all. Considering she was now a house mom and still out of work she mostly spent her days watching her kids she knew their minds well enough to anticipate who was capable of what. While Sheldon was most definitely a good father (better then her own in her mind since he was more then thrilled that Marie was a girl) he was absent while he was at work especially when his projects began taking off which meant she knew her children's personalities better merely based on the hours a day she was alone with them. Marie was pure Sheldon in personality but that was hardly a surprise. She was already adopting his mannerisms and even his smugness at times. Penny knew she would have to head it off immediately but Leo, he was different. While it was obvious he was no slouch as he seemed to keep at least one step behind Marie as far as achievements went he was far better at physical activities and his personality was totally different. Not completely unlike her own but still not hers. Leo was more intuitive, sensitive to other people's feelings and could read people even at this age.

He was sweet and quiet and always had a smile on his face. It was an oddity to a great deal of people who knew Sheldon since his son looked exactly like him. Even now Penny could make out the bone structure of Sheldon's face and his colouring. If his body length was any indication he was in store for the Cooper height as well. If not for his personality she would have guessed Sheldon had used her "healthy ovum" to clone himself. Happily Leo was much more personable then his father. He was concerned with those around him and could recognize emotions instantly.

Which was part of the reason he had ended up in Mrs. Vartabedian's apartment.

Sheldon had never really considered Leo a true genius since most of his accomplishments were not had in front of his father (Penny suspected that this was on purpose) and Marie's abilities were more in tune to what Sheldon was used to perceiving and measuring. Marie was more interested in numbers. Leo was not. Marie loved learning new things about science, adored the planetarium (Sheldon had had to renew the canceled membership) and loved watching him write on his grease board and explain to her what he was doing. Leo preferred to sit with Penny and watch a movie, go out to the park or visit the Hofstadters next door. He loved it when people came over and adored being with Howard and Raj and Ruby when she came to visit. Still, these were all traits Sheldon didn't really take note of so Penny became somewhat concerned when she noted he often overlooked Leo.

It blew up in his face.

It happened when Sheldon was watching them. She had gone out with Ruby and Leslie (Ruby who seemed to be finding reason to come to Pasadena more and more often and Leslie who was due very, very soon) They had returned home with a few bags but mostly baby clothes and supplies for Leslie. Laughing with one another they tumbled into the Cooper apartment to find Sheldon on his computer with Marie watching an educational film on the T.V. The little girl fixed her intense gaze on her mother immediately before turning her attention back to the show. Penny noticed the missing element immediately. She didn't even drop her bags as she came to stand in front of the couch.

"Sheldon? Where's Leo?" her voice came out low and dangerous.

"I'm sorry Penny. I am concentrating on these particularly grueling equations. I won't bore any of you with the details as they are likely to complicated for you to adequately comprehend or appreciate," even though he had not bothered to glance at her he shot a pointed look at Leslie who gave him the finger in return, "But I am on the verge of a major break through, I must concentrate."

"Really because I am going to break through you're skull if you don't tell me where Leo is right now." she replied, storming over to where he was standing and snapping his laptop shut.

Sheldon turned in his chair, looking irritably at her first before he spotted Marie sitting on the couch. She turned to acknowledge him while watching the interplay with her parents. Penny could see Sheldon's head tilt as he looked to where the little girl was sitting and the empty spot at the other end of the couch.

"He was instructed to stay with his sister and watch the movie on blowflies that I put on the television." Sheldon stated before rising to his feet, "He clearly has trouble following instructions. I blame you're influence."

Penny felt like her stomach had dropped.

Recently, Sheldon had abandoned his habit of keeping the twins in a playpen. Not only did Marie express her displeasure vocally Leo had taken to wrapped his little hands on any cord he could find and pulling as hard as he could. If he could not get to a cord he would throw a tantrum that would bring the walls down. Considering the twins were both old enough to wander in the living room and to understand his instructions Sheldon had taken to letting them wander the living room and simply closing all the other doors. Penny occasionally found this worrisome. Not she knew why.

"I don't care who you blame, where is he?" Penny cried, dropping her things and tearing across the apartment, "We have to find him"

Ruby was on her sister's heels, blonde hair flying out behind her as they disappeared into the hallway.

"Wow, Dr. Dumb ass. You actually lost your kid?' Leslie smarmed as she waddled into the room and sat down next to Marie on the couch, "At least your setting the bar so low that there is no way Leonard can't raise it."

Sheldon said nothing, he just shot her a death glare. Any comment he might have made was thrown off when a teary eyed Penny rushed back into the room.

"I can't find him anywhere!" she cried, "Where is he? Why weren't you watching him? What if he was kidnapped? What if I never see him again?" 

"This is preposterous!" Sheldon cried, throwing his hands up in frustration, "He has to be here, he is incapable of opening the door."

"No he's not." a small voice came from the couch.

All the adults in the room stopped to stare at the little girl sitting in the center of the brown couch. Immediately Penny was at her daughter's side.

"What do you mean Sweetie?" she asked. Marie gave her a look of pure annoyance.

"Leo knows how to open doors. Everyone knows how to open a door. We're not dumb." she answered slowly.

:Marie are you aware of your brother's current location." Sheldon asked.

"Yes." she replied easily before settling her eyes back on the television.

"Marie can you tell us where Leo is?" Ruby asked this time.

"Yes I can." she answered before turning away from the conversation again.

All the adults stared at her.

"Marie where is Leo?" Sheldon asked.

Marie smiled.

"Grandma, where did you say he lives?"

"Upstairs" the sweet elderly woman smiled.

The man standing in the two bedroom apartment sighed as he watched his grandmother sitting with the little boy on the couch. In front of her she had a sippy-cup he was sure used to be his when he was little and a full high tea spread. The little one was parked on the old velvet couch, munching his tea cookies and looking for all the world like someone who was supposed to be there. Still, Marcus had to worry about the implications of a strange child hanging out in his elderly grans apartment and just how mad the boy's parents would be. Still, there was no way to return to kid. It wasn't like he was an oversized sweatshirt that had been misbought. There were no tags indicating where he had come from. The only option he could think of was going door to door upstairs and knocking until he found someone who had misplaced a toddler.

"What's his name?" he asked again, sitting on the couch next to the little guy, "Who are his parents? Does he do this often? What if no one knows he's missing?"

"Oh Marcus sweetie stop worrying so much." his grandmother twittered, "If they need to his Mama and Daddy will find him I'm sure. I always found you whenever you got lost in this building."

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair before looking at the little boy sitting to his left. The little guy was cute, with huge round blue eyes and honeyed brown hair parted to the side. He was wearing a red and white striped jumper like Marcus remembered seeing on the little kid who was in the Labyrinth movie with David Bowie. He smiled. He had always loved that movie. Still looking at him, he had to think his parents were worrying, if he were a father he would worry. His Gran seemed totally oblivious to the situation, she said nothing to him and just chatted with the little boy. It made him feel guilty that he had not and probably would not be giving her any great grandchildren anytime soon. In her aged state Valerie Vartabedian was a spry old thing and eager for someone to take up her time. Even with him leaving here he knew she was lonely. Still, this was not their kid and his parents were probably going mental already.

Making up his mind Marcus jumped to his feet.

"Where are you going?" his grandmother smiled, handing another digestive cookie to the little boy.

The little guy fixed two intense blue eyes on him, as if questioning his actions.

"Going to go door to door and ask if anyone's lost a kid," he stated, running a hand through his close cropped hair.

"Oh Marcus that's silly." she grinned, "Leo does this every day. He's practicing his walking on stairs. He goes down to the lobby, stops here for a chat and a snack and then I walk him back up. It's nothing to worry about, now please sit and be polite to our company."

He sighed and shook his head. Fishing his cellphone out of his pocket Marcus took a moment to take a quick snap shot of the kid to show the nieghbours while he opened the door and headed out, determined to solve this mystery.

In fact, he was so determined he forgot to look where he was going and bowled over the group of people standing on the opposite side of the door. Well not the group, just the first girl, but they both went down pretty hard. He caught himself before actually hitting the floor ending up in a position that made it seem like he was doing push ups on the carpet. Sadly, the situation would have been a great deal less embarrassing had there not been a pair of almondy shaped green eyes staring up at him. There was an awkward moment of realization followed immediately by an even more awkward scramble to get away from one another as quickly as possible.

His arms pushed back and he landed rather gracelessly on his backside. At the same moment she pushed herself up into a sitting position. He could see her now, her figure was rounded but not overtly so. Her face was oval shaped with apple like cheeks and tanned skin. Her hair was a pale blonde spread over her shoulders and face in a messy manner that made her look out of breath. She was the embodiment of an All American girl if he had ever seen one, so much so he debated whether or not she was real. Even then she still looked like a strange female reflection and to him it was almost surreal. She blinked once or twice before fixing her gaze on him. He could feel the blush spread across his cheeks. She was a very, very pretty woman.

"Oh sweetie," a small voice came from the apartment, "See, I told you his mother would find him. Penny dear, come in come in. Please don't be shy. Marcus, invite Penny and her friends in."

Marcus sighed and hoisted himself to his feet. Reaching down and offering the blonde woman (Penny) his hand and a heart felt apology. She really is quite lovely, her cheeks were flushed and she merely smiled at him in a reassuring way before rushing into the apartment, followed closely by her ladies in waiting. The moment she was in he saw she had wrapped herself around the little boy, slight tears leaking from her eyes. He shook his head, the little guy must have scared her witless.

"I was just coming up there." he offered gently, discreetly passing a tissue.

"Thank you." she answered before looking at the boy, "You are not supposed to run away from Daddy when he's watching you."

"He wasn't watching,." the little guy answered logically "I said bye."

The woman seemed to rub at her temples for a moment and avoid looking at the women behind her.

"Well you shouldn't leave the apartment, you could have gotten lost."

Marcus hid his laughter as the kid gave her a look that indicated he didn't believe a word of what she was saying.

"I don't get lost."

"He's right dear. He never does." his grandmother smiled as she brought out additional cups of tea and began dispensing it among the women, "Every afternoon for our cookies and a little chat. That sweet little boy is like clockwork. Fifteen minutes and we walk back up to your door don't we?"

The little guy nodded his head sagely, but his mother looked totally shocked. He suddenly felt back for this woman. She was pretty but now he could see the darkened bags under her eyes and her skin looked pale.

"He does this everyday?" she asked in disbelief.

"Why yes." His grandmother replied before a worried expression set over her face, "Oh dear, you didn't know did you. I am so sorry. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble my girl."

"No, it's okay. I promise " she sighed, rubbing her temples,"It's just their so quick. I mean, I could blame Sheldon but I watch them too and if he's doing this everyday then it's while I'm watching them to so I can't really blame him for it. I still fall asleep sometimes because of that stupid medication, I mean I try to do it when their napping but obviously that tanked."

He sighed and looked at her then he looked at his grandmother. Marcus Vartabedian had joined the army too young and had seen too much real action. The only reason he had survived was that he had, what his commander referred to as, great instincts. He could see how puzzles fit together. He knew when to run and when to walk, when to hide and when to take a stand. He just knew when things were meant to be together and nothing stopped him from instigating it. So seeing the pretty, tired blonde woman talk about how she was so sorry but she was still healing and her husband did have the time to be a full time babysitter while he grandmother listened intently, eager for a chance to dispel her lonely days the words came out of his mouth instantly.

"We'd be happy to babysit them if that's what you need." he said.

All the women in the room turned to look at him and he felt that telltale blush rush over his features. However his grandmother had latched onto the idea and was grinning from ear to ear.

"OH that would be wonderful. I loved Marcus when he was little!" she gushed, "I love babies. Please, Penny dear, if you would like me to I would be honoured!"

He watched the girl named Penny gape for a moment, perhaps in shock or something else. She looked at her son and then at her friends as if they held the answers. The little boy was grinning from ear to ear and the girls seemed to be just as shocked as she was.

"We are just downstairs. You could drop them off for the afternoons if you want to watch them yourself in the mornings." Marcus smiled, placing a hand on his grandmother's shoulder, "My gran is great at this and I'll be around for the most part. I mean, the little guy is here everyday for a good half hour anyhow."

Penny sputtered.

"I couldn't." she stated suddenly, "They're too much trouble and you're not really responsible for them. I mean you're really nice.. it's far to much to impose on you.."

"Oh my dear we've known you for a long time. Since before you got married." his grandmother smiled and patted at the young woman's hand, "When I was your age I had a little one and my sister moved in to help me with her. I was doing that and trying to be a good wife and had my acting career to work on. But I coped because I knew when to ask for help. Now that's just a part of learning my dear and the sign of a good mother is to know when to call in backup."

The woman drew her son onto her lap and nodded blankly, like all the words his grandmother had said were swimming through her head. He watched as her collection of friends gathered around her, and he heard her whisper that she would speak to her husband about it and get back to them. Marcus smiled and nodded before holding the door open for the ladies and watching them retreat up the stairs. His eye caught hers before she disappeared, just as she turned to look back and he smiled as reassuringly as he could before closing the door.

He wasn't surprised when he saw her again a week later dropping the twins off with his grandmother just before he headed out of work..


	10. Luke

Luke

Penny could say that she was one of those women who loved to lounge. A good lounge in the middle of the day when she had dropped the twins off at the lovely downstairs nieghbours with the promise to pick them up in a few hours was exceptionally wonderful. With Sheldon once again happily deposited at Caltech for his work hours and their living room blissfully clean thanks to a very productive morning Penny felt like she could just close her eyes and sleep for the first time in months. Then the door opened.

She couldn't say she was surprised to see Leslie Winkle standing in her doorway. After all, since she had moved in with Leonard and progressed in her pregnancy she had been a closer friend to Penny then the blonde haired woman had thought possible. So Leslie being there wasn't odd. What was odd was the somewhat crazed look in the brown haired woman's eyes and the way she was clutching the doorframe. Penny rolled into a sitting position.

"My water broke." Leslie stated.

"You're early." Penny responded immediately, "You have at least two weeks to go. Leonard's not even here, You can't be early."

Leslie gave her a look she usually reserved for Sheldon but Penny didn't react to it. Memories of her own labour and the twins came to mind and soon she slipped into that deep calm reserved for people who have faced a crisis situation and lived to tell the tale. Raising two little Coopers while dealing with their King was a war zone if she knew one and by God she was a veteran. Leslie in labour, nothing she couldn't handle.

"Okay, do you have a baby bag?" Penny asked as she got up and moved to get her keys in the little bowl Sheldon kept near the door.

"Oh like those overnight bags all the moms have?" Leslie smiled.

Penny nodded.

"Nope." she answered, the smile still present on her face.

Penny sighed and pushed past her into the hallway, stopping a moment to grab her coat otherwise she'd never hear the end of it from Sheldon.

"So how far apart are the contractions?" she asked.

The brown haired woman was pressing her hands against the wall, her entire body hunched in pain. Penny bit her lip and nodded. So pretty close. She moved to Leslie's side immediately, taking the small woman by the arm and leading her through the winding staircases. About halfway down the stairs another contraction seemed to hit them and they were forced to ride it out. Penny felt her heart drop. It had been less then ten minutes to get here there. She had felt a tightness spread in her chest. Moving quickly she ran to Mrs. Vartabedian's door and began slamming her hands against the greenish wood in desperation.

Marcus answered the door, his eyes brightening as he saw Penny, then narrowing as he looked past her to where Leslie was puffing on the staircase.

"She's in labour." Penny blurted out.

"Either that or she's decided to start holding lamaze classes in the third floor hallway." Marcus replied, narrowing his eyes at the smaller woman who had just given him the finger. He turned his and yelled over his shoulder, "Gran if you could call an ambulance that would be great."

A loud groan forced both Penny and Marcus to Leslie's side.

"Marcus dear, what's all this commotion about?" Mrs Vartebedian asked as she toddled to the doorway.

Penny's eyes caught the older woman's form. She was wearing a rather nice long dress and overcoat and her white hair was wrapped up in a pretty french twist. Penny had never gotten a really decent look at the older woman who had developed a bond with her children and now that she had the woman's grace surprised her. The woman looked at her grandson the at Penny and then at the panting Leslie on the stairs before she let a small smile cross her features.

"My dear I believe you should come inside. There is no way you are going to be going to a hospital anytime soon." Mrs Vartabedian smiled and waved her hands in a motion that simply commanded them to enter her apartment.

Penny shrugged her shoulder's helplessly and moved with Marcus towards Leslie. The larger man simply waved Penny off before reaching and and lifting Leslie bridal style in his arms. The smaller woman had the presence of mind to whistle at the action before another contraction seemed to drag it out of her. Marcus shot Penny a look that she knew immediately as "what the hell are we going to do?" She tried to push ti all out of her head as she entered the room.

The first thing she noted was that the twins were decidedly quiet, following their sitting around like two small puppies clamoring to be fed. In her arms Marie was holding a clean white towel and was followed closely by Leo who was holding a portable phone. Her children soon rushed over to meet her, holding onto her knees. Marie soon moved off as Mrs. Vartabedian called to her but Leo stayed at her side, holding the phone up to her expectantly.

"It's Daddy, he wants to know why I am calling him." Leo stated.

Penny could do nothing but stare at her son for a moment before taking the phone from his outstretched little hand.

"Hello?" she asked tentatively.

"Penny, It's Sheldon." his voice was decisive, as if he was not amused, "Penny, why is Leo calling me at work? And why did say you are with him? I was under the impression Leonard and I were to stop at Mrs. Vartabedian's apartment before coming home, if there a significant reason you are with Leo?"

"Sweetie, you and Leonard need to get here as quick as possible okay? Leslie's in labour." she sputtered out.

"She's in labour?" he asked, his voice rising with each word, "Why are you in the apartment building? Why are you not in the car? She's two weeks early, leave it to Leslie Winkle to ..."

"Sheldon sweetie, I can't argue with you right now, you just have to get here." She snapped into the phone before closing it and moving towards Marcus.

The man was running his hand nervously through his short dark brown hair, his vibrant green blue eyes were narrowed and his brow was furrowed. He was obviously worried. Moving quickly Penny put a hand on his arm, motioning that if there was something he wanted to tell her they should move to the hallway.

Over the past few weeks (and the numerous drop offs and pick ups) she had gotten to know Marcus pretty well. Enough to know that he was an ex military man- he had done two tours of duty in Afghanistan but didn't like to talk about it- was not currently working but wanted more then anything to be an actor on a classical stage. They had talked about it a few times and gone out for coffee more then a few times. All in all Penny considered this man a good friend and the look on his face was crystal clear. She had seen him annoyed and upset before, this was bigger, so when she pulled him along he gripped her hand.

"The ambulance is on its way." he said evenly, "But they are saying that there was a bad accident on one of the main roads, traffic is wall to wall right now. They don't know if they'll get here in time, they said it might take an hour."

"WHAT?" Penny screamed before Marcus shot her a look that told her to lower her voice, "What the hell are we going to do?"

"Well you had two kids right?" he asked, she could see the desperation in his eyes.

"Yes, in a hospital. With Sheldon on one side of me and a team of nurses and a doctor on the other. Plus I was in labour for like, ten hours and I had an epidural. Leslie's been in labour for like an hour, this thing is going super fast. There is no Leonard, there is no Sheldon and no one here knows what the hell were doing!" Penny cried, tears appeared in the corners of her eyes.

Immediately Marcus moved forward, hugging her tightly and whispering for her to settle down. It took her only a moment to calm down, take a few deep breaths before he gently pushed her away to arms length and bent his head low to look at her critically. She felt her tears well up again under his gaze but immediately his voice stayed them.

"Stop it. You need to stay calm and help your friend. I know this is terrifying but this isn't about you. We need to focus." he stated sternly.

Her mouth snapped shut and a hardness entered her eyes. She watched as he seemed shocked at his own words, realizing that he had said them out loud before trying to take them back. She shushed him by a simple wave of the hand. Two years ago she probably would had thrown a fit but living with Sheldon had hardened her to the honest truth and hearing it more of a comfort then an insult. Penny felt the sudden sense of shame of her reality check was followed quickly by determination to see this through. He was right. This wasn't about her. this was about Leslie. This was about Leonard. This was about helping her friends the same way they had helped her all those months ago. She moved to where Mrs. Vartabedian had set Leslie up against the couch. The brown haired woman looked frightened which surprised Penny. She had never seen Leslie look anything but confident but now, with her hair wet with sweat and her eyes watering with the pain she seemed very small and fragile. It was hard not to feel her breath catch in her throat. People died in Childbirth when there was no one to assist them. This could be horrible. This could end badly. She shoved the thought from her mind violently.

"Leslie we called the ambulance but this is going to try to get here in time but this is going really fast." she whispered to the other girl, Leslie's face grimaced but her jaw tightened in determination as she nodded through her tense breathing. She should call the hospital and get them to walk her through this.

She turned to see that Marcus was on the phone again, maybe he was capable of reading her mind. If he was all the power to him.

"Kay we're going to get through this together." she said gently, keeping her voice even and calm, "Don't worry."

"How can I not be worried? For God's sake Barbie I've studied this backwards and forward, there is less then a one percent chance that this can happen with first time mothers, LESS THEN ONE." she screamed.

"But it does happen!" Penny cried suddenly, holding onto her tight as she winced through a contraction, " And people live through it and the babies are healthy. We are going to do this. We are going to have this baby together and then we are going to celebrate my twins first birthday in a week and then we are going to spend the rest of our lives trying to figure out how to force our kids to get married to one another while they talk about how insane we are."

Leslie turned to face her, her dark, teary brown eyes boring into Penny's green. In the background she could hear Marcus calling out, telling his grandmother to gather items whoever on the phone was demanding they needed.

"There is nothing logical about this." Leslie groused suddenly, wiping at the trailing tears "I am a strong, independent woman. Crying is completely unnecessary."

"But it makes you feel better doesn't it?" Penny laughed and wiped at her own eyes, "Come on, we're going to get through this and then you can Lord it over Leonard for the rest of his life."

Leslie smiled herself, "That would be nice..."

Penny nodded authoritatively, "So we're in this together then. You and me."

Leslie nodded as well, reaching forward and taking Penny's hand in a rare moment of physical contact. It was strange but she felt more intimate with Leslie in that moment then she had with Leonard, Sheldon or even her children in ages. They were united in something so base, so primal that it was easily greater then all of them. Penny felt something in their relationship shift and when Leslie looked into her eyes she felt like everything was going to be okay. She didn't know how and Sheldon would later tell her that it was merely a combination of fear, adrenaline and Penny's own brand of hokum but she knew better then to think it was merely coincidence. She furrowed her brow, grabbed a wet cloth and bunkered down next to her friend for the long haul.

Penny would have liked to say she was calm and collected throughout the entire ordeal. That Marcus, Mrs. Vartebedian and the kids watched as she single handedly delivered Leonard and Leslie's first born with her bare hands. It would have been an amazing story. However no one was more relieved then Penny (with the exception of Leslie) when the Paramedics flew through the door and loaded the very, very close to giving birth Leslie into the ambulance heading for Huntington's. Marcus stayed with the twins as Penny rode alongside her friend, holding the curly haired woman's hand throughout the ordeal and snapping out a play by play to Leonard over her phone.

Lucas Leonard Hofstatder was born at 3:07 pm in the back of an ambulance on its way to Huntington Hospital. The first person to ever hold him was his honorary Aunt, Penny Cooper. His father heard his first cry through the telephone and immediately received a picture of him as Penny balanced the new born in her arms. In Luke's entire lifetime Leonard would never throw away his phone or delete that picture.


	11. Ruby

Ruby

Penny thought she might have actually gone blind. The sight before her was so disgusting that it horrified her that it was right there in front of her, not twenty feet where her beautiful, innocent children were sleeping. Her mouth worked in a vain attempting to force sound out while the objects of her terror tried desperately to rearrange themselves. It was only logical that it was Sheldon (not at all shocked but more annoyed) who broke the awkward air.

"Howard I am sorry but you are receiving two strikes!" he snapped in a no nonsense voice, "One for being in my spot and another for not wearing your pants while in our apartment!"

**Earlier that day...**

The twins birthday party was the event of the season which just went to show how boring their lives had become. For the first time she could remember everyone had been present. Mary and Missy had flown in from Texas while Penny's family were set to arrive later that day. Her mother and father ( Angie and Bob) had booked into a local hotel (there was no way there was enough room in their apartment for that many people) Her brother, his wife and their kids were also in the same hotel. And, of course, Ruby was already set up.

It wasn't surprising, Ruby had been in Pasadena more and more consistently for her design work then Penny could ever recall her being before. She loved it since it meant her sister was around more often, sadly it also meant her parents were feeling more compelled to make their way to her city. There had been plenty of indications over the phone that her parents had some sort of plan regarding both her and her children. She was thankful Max and his family were in Omaha where her parents could cater to their two children and leave hers alone.

She was actually quite surprised her parents had even shown up at all. When she had found out she was pregnant she had immediately run home to try and figure out what was going on in her life. In that time both her mother and her father had done everything in their power to try and convince her to move back home. They had claimed California had done nothing for her and all her life had amounted to was a low paying job, a stack of bills, a series of failed relationships and an unwanted pregnancy with a man neither of her parents deemed even slightly worthy of her attention. Instead they had put her in sights of many a nice boy from Nebraska in and effort to keep her put. They had even invited her brother's best friend (Jude, a very handsome young man whose family had owned the local hardware store) over endlessly in very badly concealed attempts to hook them up. He had been really kind and very willing to embrace both her and fatherhood. Penny could say that had she not been totally in love with Sheldon he might have had a chance but as it stood he hadn't stood a chance.

When she had decided to go back to Pasadena and take hold of her life they had not been happy. In fact, they had not even come to see the twins yet. She had never told Sheldon about them and he had never asked. They're coming was wreaking havoc on her nerves.

'Oh come on Penelope, these are perfect!" Ruby cried, lifting a tiny little Superman cape in her hands and waving it around, "We have to get these."

"I am sure Sheldon will thank you." Penny drawled, leaning her weight against the bar of the shopping cart and tapping her head against the handle.

Mary and Missy had decided (collectively) to take the smallest additions of their family out for lunch and an afternoon of shopping. Sheldon was more then happy to join them at a pre-approved restaurant to supervise the outing. Ruby and Penny had laughed as he ran out of the door after his mother and sister with Leo and Marie's sunhats and 35 SPF sunblock in a panic about melanoma. This, of course, left them with an afternoon free to plan and prepare for the party. And left Penny with enough time to pump her sister for info.

"So what are mom and dad doing here?" Penny casually let out,

"What do you mean?" Ruby replied, loading the cart with little paper plates. She had insisted on buying some of the party supplies and helping out, "They're here because their Mom and Dad and they love you."

"Yeah, sure" she scoffed, "That's totally why they're here."

Ruby sighed and dropped in a load of brilliant red napkins, "I convinced them to come."

"Why?" Penny replied in a long whine.

Ruby placed her hands on her hips, glaring at her younger sister, "Because Marie and Leo are their grandchildren and they have got to stop being so stupid and pig headed about this. They don't even really KNOW Sheldon. He's a bit weird but he's a good guy and he loves you. Just because he's not the guy they would have picked doesn't mean they should act like complete asses about this."

"They wanted me to hook up with Jude, can you believe that?" Penny laughed.

"Of course I can believe that. They freakin' love Jude. He was Max's best man. He is one of Rose's cousins and you know how much they love her, even before Valerie and Eddie were born." Ruby stated, twirling around so her long golden hair flared out, "Their taste is questionable. They also liked Jimmy and he cheated on me."

Her cellphone began playing "Ruby Tuesday" and she flipped it open and began chattering.

Penny nodded in understanding. Her parents were good people but they really weren't reasonable people. After all, her father had pretended she was a boy until her first training bra. Even when she went home depressed terrified and pregnant he had made it clear that even though she was afraid he been hoping for another grandson. With Max's son Eddie rounding eighteen he was hoping for another strapping young man to take under his wing, to teach and mold in his own image. She knew they were going to be disappointed when they discovered Leo had shown very little interest in sports

"They want us to meet them for lunch" Ruby continued, "Then they'll come back to the apartment with us and help us put the decorations up."

"Who?" Penny asked as she found one of those shiny "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" signs and tossed it into the slowly filling cart.

"Mom, Dad, Max, Rose and the kids." Ruby said solemnly, 'I tried telling them we were busy but they weren't going to take no for an answer. I just suggested we get burgers or whatever."

Penny threw her hands up in the air dramatically, looking at her apologetic sister, "I'm sorry Pens, you know how they get. It's okay, my news is totally going to trump any sort of problems they're going to give you."

Penny stopped to raise an eyebrow at her older sister. Ruby smiled, her blue eyes gleaming.

"What are you hiding?" Penny smiled, "Come on, Tell me..."

"You'll see. It's a surprise." she grinned wrapping her arms around Penny's shoulders and kissing her on the cheek, "Now come on, we can get the rest of this stuff together and then meet them at Big Boys, listen to whatever things they have to say and then go back to your place and prepare. We should be done before Sheldon and his family get home from shopping with the kids."

They had decided to go to a little Cafe that Penny had never bothered going into before. She had suggested Big Boy but had been outvoted when her mother had stated she just didn't like Big boy hamburgers and they were watching her father's diet. What had followed was a long winded argument about what, where, why and when they were going to eat. It had ended with an agreement to meet at the Black Dog Cafe and Ruby had insisted on driving both herself and Penny separately. Penny was very grateful for her sisters presence of mind. She loved her family dearly but being there with them was a lot harder then she remembered. As she and Ruby sat at the cafe and watched the family unload out of the large van they had rented locally and stumble into the parking lot.

Her father was a large man, born and raised on a farm he looked like your stereotypical field worker. Even now at fifty-nine he was 6'3" and possessed very little body fat. His once golden hair (the same colour as Penny and all her siblings) had faded to a cross between pure white and platinum. His skin was full of deep lines and creases, still the tanned colour of a man who spent most of his time outside in the sun and even in the city it was obvious he did not belong there. His presence was clear. If her father was a superman her brother was close behind. Max looked just like their Dad had when he was younger. At 36 he had the same worker hands and the same devil may care smile. Their square jaws matched one another and their hazel eyes with the long eye lashes were probably the only thing slightly feminine about them (she had always been obscenely jealous of those lashes). They could easily have been those men in the cowboy commercials. As she watched them she could see her brother pat her father on the back then her nephew, Eddie come up behind them. Three generations of men in their family walked towards the Cafe doors together. She frowned slightly. Her son looked absolutely nothing like the men in her family wondered if her mother would actually comment on it. Speaking of which the woman herself hurried out after the men. Her mother, Angie and her sister in law Rose took up the rear. Both Penny and Ruby exchanged a knowing look.

While the most their father had ever wanted was more sons their mother was a little more critical. She always had something to say. Mostly about what Penny and Ruby were doing wrong. Watching her walk behind the boys, chatting with Rose (who looked enough like them to be mistaken for their sister) both girl's exchanged a look that clearly stated that they would be watching one another's back. The looks were subverted as they focused their attention on the situation of the moment. As their father entered the building they both jumped to their feet and waved.

Their father, brother and nephew waved back, both girl waved furiously as the men rushed towards them.

"There's my girl, my shinin' Ruby," Their father exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Ruby's waist and listening to her before dropping her down and turning to Penny and enveloping her in a tight hug, "and my lucky Penny, come here my darling girl. You look good. Losing that baby weight."

Penny blushed and nodded, although she wasn't scooter anymore she was still his youngest.

"Hey there baby sister." Max cried wrapping his arms around her and lifting her while jumping up and down, "I ain't seen you since you were out to there."

He let her down and moved back. He made the motion with his hands, indicating just how large he had remembered her being. Penny believed he was exaggerating. She hoped he was but punched him in the arm just in case.

"Hey Rubes," he smiled hugging her as well, "It's been a dogs age since I saw you last."

"Yeah, yeah," the older girl said, waving him off.

Another round of hugs and kisses ensued as their Mom entered. Angie was like the rest of the family, blonde hair, pale skinned and Mid western perfect. She hardly looked like a woman in her fifties with the exception of being slightly more rounded then Penny or Ruby. She hugged both her daughters, kissing them and exclaiming how lovely they both were. Penny knew looking at her mother was like looking at an older version of herself although it was Ruby who everyone said was most like their mother. All in all they looked like the most perfect, white nuclear family BABYGAP ad anyone could ever hope for.

Taking their places at the table they moved quickly, drinks were ordered, small talk was made

and meals were received as quickly as possible.

As everyone started chattering over foods Penny focused in on Rose. Her brother's wife was the same age as Ruby and had gone to high school with her although they had never been close. She was a quiet girl from a good family. Her mother and father owned a horse farm in Omaha where Max was a trainer- when he wasn't helping their father with his farm.

"How are you Penny?" she smiled happily, managing to keep an eye on her son and her thirteen year old daughter who was rapidly texting, "How are you adjusting to motherhood? Twins, I could only imagine. That must be so intense, I had a hard time when Eddie was born."

"Oh you know." Penny replied, trying to draw attention away from her, "I found the beginning to be really emotional but I'm sure every new mom has these sorts of problems."

"What kind of problems?" her mother pipped up turning to look over at the girls, "You got over those Baby blues didn't you? You won't believe it Rosey, Penny though she had something called Post Partum something or other. Oh those movie and theater types "

Penny clenched her jaw. Her mother honestly had thought her PPD was just a mild form of depression. She had laughed it off, telling Penny that being a new mom was hard and she would adjust. It was Sheldon's mother and sister who had stayed with her and helped her care for the kids. That was around the time Ruby had started spending more time in Pasadena and when her sister had realized what she had been going through she had apologized until she was blue in the face. Her mother had never even acknowledged that anything was wrong. She didn't mention the therapy or the medication.

"Yeah she did." Ruby answered smoothly, smiling at their mother and Rose, "And she worked hard to get over it and become the best Mom I've ever seen. "

Penny grinned.

"Well next to me of course," her mother laughed, before fixing her gaze on the girls," Oh Rosey, you know our Penny, if she wasn't the center of attention she just wasn't happy. Remember when she was fifteen and played the lead in the School play! Do you remember Bob? She talked about it for ages. Then there was the fashion show, and the talent show. Penny needed to be in the limelight."

"Penny was great in the play Mom," Max commented from across the table, "Kids, I remember going to see your Aunty Penny at her school play when your mom and I were just dating. She did such a good job that I knew right then and there that she was going to be bigger then Omaha."

Penny flushed with pleasure, Max had always been so supportive.

"Oh Max you're so sweet." her mother grinned, smiling at her son before fixing a gaze on Penny "But let's be honest here. Penny needs to get her head on straight. You're a grown up woman now sweet heart and I think its time for you to take some responsibility."

"Mom, we're here for the twins birthday," Ruby began, trying to head their mother off from one of her favourite subjects, "That's what we came for right?"

"Of course, I would LOVE to MEET my grandchildren," her mother snapped, fixing her eyes on Penny, "Seeing as I have yet to actually be introduced to them."

"No one told you not to visit Mom," Penny replied, trying to keep her anger in check.

"Well I just figured it would be inconvenient. Especially considering that man you're living with." her mother scoffed.

"He's not some man, he's my husband! Although you never came to the wedding so you wouldn't know!" Penny snapped, "And there is nothing wrong with him!"

"Oh please Penny dear, standing in front of a judge is not a real wedding." her mother answered, " Besides, I met him, we all met him. Now, I am sure Sherman is a nice man..."

"Sheldon Mom, his name is Sheldon!" Penny cried.

"Of course, Sheldon," she replied with a wave of her hand, "He seems like he would be a nice enough man but we are just concerned you've done what you always do in these situations. Jumped into something without thinking it through and gotten in over your head. Now, your father and I are concerned that you are making the wrong decision for your children honey. The schools in Omaha are wonderful and there's plenty of room in the house now that Max and Rosey have their own place. You know Jude still asks about you. He runs the store now and I spoke with him, he would be more then willing to take you on as a cashier. Such a nice boy, and it doesn't even matter to him that you have those children. He would love them like his own, that's the kind of upstanding young man he is."

Penny could only gape. Beside her Ruby's mouth moved soundlessly.

"I'm sorry I must not have heard you right." she answered in a low voice and dripping with sarcasm, "I thought you said that I should leave Sheldon, the father of my children and my husband to work at Jude's hardware store and live with you and Dad on the farm in Omaha."

"Now Penny, don't you take that tone with your mother," her father warned gruffly.

"No Daddy, This is insane." Ruby cried in defense, "Penny's doing just fine..

"No what's insane is that you both think this is a good idea!" her mother snapped moving her hands to indicate everything around her, everyone else at the table fell silent, "Penelope, you are a mother now and you have to take responsibility for the lives of your children. Sweetheart, it is time for you to grow up!"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this!" Penny started, "A year ago you were telling me that I having kids was the biggest mistake I could have made with my life, now you're saying I have to do everything in my power to move them closer to the people who told me to give them up."

"Penny you are still my daughter and you will not cause a scene." her mother snapped at her, effectively shutting her up, "We love you and care for you but you have always been a dreamer. This move to California, this being an actress. We've had this conversation before dear. And who is this Sheldon? Really what kind of person is he. We had never even heard a good thing about this man before you came home pregnant."

"Penny sweetheart, we wants best for you," her father added, " Seeing our little girl having to raise two babies alone in California, well what should do?"

"I'm not alone." she cried.

"That man of yours isn't fit to raise a goldfish," her mother replied hotly, "I think he might not be right in the head. I am supposed to leave my grandchildren and daughter to be taken care of by a crazy man? I will not let you go through that! You are my baby no matter how old you are and I will protect you!"

"I am a grown woman!" Penny screamed.

"I am your mother!" Angie replied.

Penny jumped to her feet, throwing her napkin down on the table. The two women stared at one another, a strange mirror image of each other before Penny gave in and stormed out.

Ruby was on her heels. Max was on hers.

Penny ran from the restaurant trying to will the tears from her eyes, her hands randomly pushing through her first in a desperate attempt to find her keys. She should have known. She should have known! Her mother had not at all be pleased with Sheldon from the moment she had first met him. Even that night she had not seen a man who had driven all the way to Penny's childhood home in Omaha with his four friends to ask her to come back without ever knowing why she had left. She hadn't seen the desperation as he had begged her to return or the tears in his eyes when she asked for time. All she had seen was a man who refused to drink from their glasses and had unwilling to even consider staying in their house. He was nothing like her family and unlike his own family who exhibited compassion, hers were unrelenting. Tears streamed from her eyes. It was unfair. She loved Sheldon, why couldn't that be enough. Why couldn't they see past the strangeness of him and just love the sweetness, like she did. No they thought his he was just plain nuts, not at all normal. Not the kind of man she could take home for Thanksgiving or her family could play football with on their front lawn.

Penny made it to the car and tried to keys, her tears blurring her vision before she dropped them completely and just threw her fists angrily against the drivers door.

"Penny wait!"

She turned to face the onslaught with dread only to be wrapped in her sister's arms and then simultaneously her brother's. She was shocked at the sudden contact- Sheldon was not into PDA's- plus her brother hadn't done this since that night he had found her so drunk she couldn't walk because she had been trying to get back at an ex boyfriend and had made an ass of herself. They hadn't talked all that much, not since he had gotten his own life but at this moment he was offering strength, the same as Ruby and it felt amazing.

The siblings pulled apart, all three looking at one another.

"You know what Penny-lane?" he stated, using her childhood nickname, "SCREW 'EM!"

":What?" She stuttered.

Max had always been their parents golden child.

"You heard me kid." he replied, looking into her green eyes with his soft brown ones, "Don't let anyone tell you what to do and how to raise your kids. Rubes here says your an awesome Mom and I believe her and if you love this guy then I am going to have your back no matter what."

She began crying again.

Ruby smiled, "Well I guess I can let you guys in on the secret since Mom and Daddy are going to have my hide for it anyway. I got a promotion at work. I am going to be moving to Pasadena There's an opening at a new branch of my design firm and I am going to be the manager. So Pens you better buck up because I'm going to be here a lot more and I don't want to see your tears."

Despite the pain she did manage to smile and congratulate her. The sisters embraced again, before Max told them to leave and let him deal with the parents. Ruby ran in with him to give Rose the lowdown and spring her own news (better they have everything in their arsenal then pull something new on them). Fifteen minutes later she stormed back to the car with a look that clearly stated their parents had not been as happy about this promotion the she had been. While driving home and listening to Ruby prattle on about apartment hunting Penny realized for the first time in a long time she had Ruby and Max were acting like brother and sister rather then strangers who shared the same parents and she was very glad for it.

The party began at exactly 6:07pm. Sheldon had been extremely annoyed at the tardiness, emphasizing just how much he hadn't wanted to hold a birthday party in the first place but was easily placated with the promise they would keep the partying going that extra seven minutes, even if it had slight adverse reactions to the twins bedtimes.

As soon as they got home Penny and Ruby went into work mode. They had done this before, when Ruby had moved out on her own and Penny had helped paint her house or when Penny had first moved into the apartment with Kurt and Ruby had helped them pick out and assemble their furniture. The one good thing about being raised by their mother was that they worked well in a pair. Penny was used to following the older Ruby's instructions regarding just about everything, just like she had when she was little. Ruby was good at time management while Penny was much better at finding the quickest easiest way to get things done. They both prided themselves on being the sort of people who constructively focused their anger, and they both were quite angry. So, when Sheldon and his family returned to the apartment they didn't really have to do anything then stay out of the way of two very angry, ranting women. In short time the apartment was decorated, the places were set. Ruby decorated the cake while Penny called the Pizza place and received their order. About five minutes before the party was set to begin Penny received a phone call.

"Well, I don't think their coming," Max sighed from the other end, "They're pretty peeved at me now for being 'such a bad influence. Their furious at Ruby for waiting until now to tell them and their still angry at you."

Penny felt her face fall, she also felt Sheldon's eyes narrow as they set upon her and she turned so that he was looking at her back.

"So this trip was for nothing." Penny stated.

"Don't you worry, I'm going to talk to them about how stupid this is no matter if they like it or not. I don't care what they think. I am coming there with my family to meet this man of yours and my niece and nephew. We are going to celebrate and have a great time and nothing that Mom or Dad say is going to change that." he continued, his voice gentle and placating, "Rose and the kids and I are going to head into the car in a few and we'll be there really soon. Keep your head up, Penny-lane."

"Kay, thanks Max. I appreciate it, really." she tried to keep her smile on while ending the call.

"Who was that?" Sheldon asked immediately.

Penny turned to smile through her glassy eyes, "Oh it was just my brother, they're heading down now."

"Oh," he stated as if the answer confused him, "Is that upsetting to you?"

"No, it's wonderful, he's wonderful." she answered before promptly bursting into tears.

Sheldon froze, staring at her as if she had grown a second head. Seeing him there, at a total loss, all her mother's comments came rushing back into her head. The thought that her mother might be right hit her like a kick to the gut and in she attempted to cover her mouth with her hand before one of the sobs escaped. Turning on her heel she weaved past Sheldon's family where the twins and Ruby were and ran to their bedroom.

"Penny," Ruby cried passing Marie to a worried looking Sheldon and trailing on her sisters heels.

When the door opened Penny was already set up on the bed, her head resting on her knees and tears falling down her cheeks. Ruby closed the door tightly and saddled up next to her sister.

"She's a hateful bitch and don't you let a single horrible word she said this morning get into your head." Ruby whispered as she laid her head against Penny's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her, "You know she told me Jimmy wouldn't have cheated on me had I been a better wife to him. Who says that?"

"I love Sheldon, how can she think he's not good enough." Penny cried, "He's far too good for me."

Ruby laughed under her breath, "Now we're getting a little crazy. He is a bit of a nut job Penny but then again so are you. So am I. It makes us interesting."

She started as Ruby continued, "You're insane sometimes, you are so damn positive and stubborn. Come on, the idea of you coming here and making it big instantly is crazy but that's why we love you. Those dreams make you fearless. Max and I aren't like that, we never dreamed that big. But you, you were different from the rest of our family. You've got that in you and that's special. You don't believe in anything being totally impossible and when you get down it's never for long. I don't think Mom was ever like that, don't let her take that away from you just because she thinks you're wrong."

"But Sheldon..."

"Is perfect for you!" Ruby smiled, "He's just as strange and weird and determined as you. Alright, he's a total idiot when it comes to people things but you're not that great at school. You two fit. Apart you're both just a little one sided but together you make this completely unstoppable couple! As long as you let him make all the big decisions when it comes to money and you handle all the stuff where he has to deal with other people you're totally fine. So whatever Mom says ignore it. YOU known what's best for YOU and the kids. Mom hasn't even really seen him so it doesn't matter what she says."

"You really think so?" she whispered, through the tears.

Ruby grabbed a tissue from beside the bed and wiped the tears from Penny's cheeks.

"Yes, I do." she smiled, "I wish I was half as determined as you Pens, and I hope that I'll find someone who works as well with me as Sheldon does with you."

The sisters held one another for a few more moments before getting changed for the party. She was out of her room by 6:05 and in the living room a few moments later, just after pressing a passionate kiss on the lips of her stunned husband.

It was the first time Leonard, Leslie and Luke had been out of the hospital together as a family and they were welcomed and cooed over almost as much as Penny had been when the twins had come home. Raj had arrived and was waving happily at the assembled group and smiling more gently at Missy. Penny hugged and kissed her friends happily as they came. Howard arrived with Raj, passing a present into her hand as he bee-lined for the drinks and food. Penny just shook her head and laughed, he hadn't made a derogatory comment since her accident so many months ago. Things had changed ever since then and Howard had become a close friend to her rather then just to Sheldon.

A few of her closer friends arrived, people from the before she had had the children who hadn't seen her in awhile and were shocked at just how amazing her life had turned out. The next couple a the door were Marcus and his grandmother, both kissing her cheeks and immediately moved to help with the setting up of food and stacking presents. Her guests did everything they could to unconsciously raise her mood, they grinned at her, complimenting her family and how good she looked. The boys were running Wii tournaments which seemed to be popular with the under 30 crowd. Ruby and Missy were heading the babies, each with one of the twins in their arms and allowing people to come and look at them and gush. Missy looked incredibly comfortable and Penny wondered when Sheldon's twin would begin to settle down anytime soon. The thought was interrupted when the door rang and Max and his family rushed into the room.

Max immediately hugged Penny with great gusto, within a moment his outgoing nature had him heading towards Ruby and introducing himself to Sheldon's family as soon as he saw them. Being an charming and handsome man obviously helped endear him to the Cooper women and within a few minutes Mary was regaling him with stories of her church and Max was telling them about his latest adventures on Rose's parents horse farm. He introduced his children who seemed to want to orbit the twins. Penny had her camera on her in an instant, shooting a picture of Valerie holding Marie and one of Eddie with Leo. The last shot she took was with the four of them together and she decided that she would send them a copy as a Christmas present this year. Her niece and nephew soon took over babysitting duty from Ruby and Missy, carrying the twins around and taking great pride in the newest additions to their family.

The doorbell rang, and Penny passed off her camera to Ruby with the strict to keep snapping as everyone in the room continued mingling. Feeling much better about the situation the smile on her face was genuine as she opened the door and came face to face with her parents.

"Hey there my Lucky Penny," her father began sheepishly.

Penny quickly slipped out of the apartment and closed the door tight behind her.

"I thought you two weren't coming." she asked, her voice was lead.

Her mother looked at her skeptically, her gaze turning back towards her father before focusing on Penny again.

"Your brother and father had said that I might have been a little insensitive when we were at the restaurant." her mother began, fixing her own green eyes on Penny's, "The things I said about your husband might have been a bit out of line."

"MIGHT HAVE BEEN? A BIT?" she snapped, "You said Sheldon was a mistake, you said my babies were a mistake. You pretty much implied Sheldon was a crappy husband and father. How was I supposed to take that?"

"You DID make mistake Penny, I just don't want to see you make one we can't fix. Out here, so far from your family, only seeing us on special occasions. It's not how you were raised. We just want you to come home. In Omaha your father and I are there to take care of you and the babies. Your aunts and uncles and cousins are there if you need them, it's not such a small city you know. There are plenty of opportunities for you there. I just don't understand why California is so great? If something happens to you or the babies here there is nothing we can do for you! What if this Sheldon leave the three of you? You've got no job here, no one to support you! You would be on the streets! What would be so wrong about coming home? Was Omaha that bad? We're we that bad?"  

Her mother said nothing after that, just looked at her imploringly.

"Mom," Penny said gently, "I'm not moving home."

"Penny please consider it. I hate not being able to help you here. You're all on your own."

"No." she cried, "I am not talking about this. This is my life. I love you both but if you can't deal with that, if you can't accept that, then you need to leave. I am a grown woman, this is my choice."

Her parents looked at one another solemnly. For a moment in that hallway her father didn't look like some sort of indestructible super hero He looked older and unsure. Her mother also looked her age, her hands worrying the ends of her pink blouse. They looked more at a loss then Penny could ever remember them being. Her heart went out to them. Really, they could be judgmental and harsh but they were her parents and they really were concerned about her. Her mother had always had issues about her growing up and they had said the same things when she had moved to California and when she had moved in with Kurt.

"Please," Penny tried softly taking her mother's hands in her own "I love my life. I love my husband and I am an adult now. I need to do this here and I would love it if you guys would be in my life but if you can't deal with that then I have to move on. I have to do what's best for my family."

Her mother's eyes welled with tears and she wrapped her arms around Penny body, holding her close.

Penny and Sheldon stood in the lobby, waving as their families drove off. His family had decided to get a hotel room for their final night in Pasadena, partially because they were all tired of sharing the same space and also (in Penny's mind) because they wanted to give both herself and Sheldon some space, allowing them the privacy they hadn't had in over a week .In all honesty Penny had needed it. Ruby and Howard had offered to stay and help clean after Leonard and Leslie had to hurry home with their newborn and Marcus had decided to take his grandmother back downstairs. With their help they could be done in an hour and maybe in bed in two. It seemed like a good plan.

"You seemed, upset today around your parents?" Sheldon ventured as they headed back up the stairs.

"Yeah, Mom and I had a fight." Penny replied.

"Ah, I am getting quite adept at recognizing your emotions." he grinned proudly, placing his hand on the small of her back as they walked up the hallway.

"Are you going to ask me what the fight was about?" Penny asked, more curious then eager to talk about it.

"I would think not." Sheldon answered easily, "There is no point in my knowing the specifics of your disagreement. I assume that if it was necessary that I know about your disagreement with your mother you would have told me. Your strange reactions throughout the day indicate that you were either not ready to speak on the matter or were still working through the problem. I felt it best to give you space."

She stopped moving and stared at Sheldon for a moment as he approached their floor and headed towards their door. Just as he was moving towards the handle she grabbed his outstretched hand and used it to pull him to her. Twisting as he stumbled she pressed him tightly against the wall between the stairwell and the elevator. With a long remembered passion she tilted her head, fitting her lips to his, gently at first but them more insistently. More the used to her impetuous personality she felt him respond immediately. Placing his hands gently on the swell of her hips and using the gentle grip to pull her body and grind her hips against his. She felt him smile as she let out an unconscious groan at the contact. With a giggle she took him by the hand, both eagerly running towards their apartment.

Penny threw open the door with the mind of rushing straight from the hall to the bedroom. However she was rather distracted at the horrific sight of Howard's red satin boxes half out of his undone pants and her sister's bare legs. She let out a sound strangely similar to a cat being hit with a lawn mower.

"Oh god, Penny!" her older sister cried as she shoved Howard off of her and immediately straightened her clothing.

It didn't do much good, as Penny looked at her Ruby's hair was arranged like a golden halo around her head, her lipstick was slightly smeared and her cheeks were brightly flushed. She had the good grace to look chastised. Howard did not.

"You know what?" Penny chirped happily, "It's been a long, long day. I feel like I've had my life twisted inside out and then rearranged. If you two wanna get busy on my couch, whatever. I am going to bed."

Turning to look at her sister, her friend and her husband Penny smiled, tossed her hair and strolled into her bedroom, shedding clothes along the way. She heard Sheldon chastising Howard and a few moments later the door slam soundly. When Sheldon joined her it was with a smile on his face.


	12. Marcus

_I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who had stuck with me so far with this, especially those who have been helping me out along the way with the minor continuity errors I tend to make. I truly appreciate it_

_I only have two chapters left and then I am going to start the second part of this fanfic! I hope everyone stays on board. I should be done by the Season premier . I CAN"T WAIT!!!! Again thanks to everyone. _

Marcus

The coffee shop always made her feel so "California". It wasn't like it was something extravagant or special but it felt cool to just sit there. Like those really neat people on T.V always seemed to have their most important conversations in coffee shops and up until she had met Marcus Penny had not had that opportunity. Her conversations took place in comic book stores, gaming stores or Sheldon approved restaurants. It was a necessary sacrifice, for as much as she loved the plush strange metal seats and the tiny circular tables and the local art that hung on the walls she hated a caffeine high Sheldon just a little bit more. Still, going with Marcus had it's benefits.

"Have you ever thought about Shakespeare?"

Penny cocked an eyebrow, her eyes both fixing on the man across the table from her. His blue green gaze was focused on her intensely, his face tapering into a perfectly square jaw with a strangely delicate chin. He quirked his lips at her, the short cut waves of his honeyed brown hair falling into his eyes. He had his hands folded in front of him, resting the aforementioned chin against his knuckles. His entire face oozed sincerity, this question, as it was, was a serious one.

She loved coming to the Coffee Shop with Marcus. Not only because wherever they went people whispered and pointed at them but also because he always tended to catch her completely unawares and be totally hot doing it. While she adored her husband and being around their friends there was something glamorous about Marcus. His appearance, the way he presented himself. When they were together people seemed to think they were one of those well off high bred couples. For fun sometimes they pretended to be people they weren't. A brother and sister. A husband and wife. A rich man and his mistress, a pair of hippies. People of every single race and origin she could think of. It was fun to be with Marcus because when she was with him she felt like an actual actress, not just a washed up girl playing dress up. It was like he was training her without actually doing it. Still he always caught her off guard.

"You mean, like, ever?" Penny asked skeptically,

He let out a laugh, "No I mean like recently. I think you'd make a beautiful Cleopatra."

She blushed.

Hanging out with Marcus for one month had earned her five auditions. Acting was apparently, in his blood. As they became closer and closer Penny learned and that while Marcus had been a soldier for years and seen more action then he was comfortable talking about his true love was the stage.

For the past few weeks they had come to this coffee shop during the afternoons that his grandmother was babysitting her twins he had ordered a Mocha Latte and she had her Chai and he would regal her with stories of his grandmother on the stage. Apparently, Valerie Vartabedian or rather Val Varta had been the grand Dame of a little known theater in Pasadena in the 1930's.

So their schedule was set, she would drop the twins off and Marcus would accompany her to the coffee shop where they would look through the papers of local auditions and he would regal her with stories of how his mother had met his father playing Romeo and Juliet in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Normally he would just wax about their opportunities in television and the movies but this was new. Normally he wasn't so coy with her.

"What are you getting at?" Penny asked out loud as she took a sip of her chai and pursed her lips at the spicy flavour.

"Here.": he threw down what looked like the Art based news paper.

"Mc Coy Family closes downtown Landmark: A Grand Sendoff Promised" was emblazoned across the front page.

"The first play to ever show in the Little Pasadena Theater House was A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Norman Mc Coy," Marcus began, his arms folding over his chest, "It didn't do exceptionally well but it was good and constant enough to keep the company in business for nearly sixty years."

"Yeah so?" Penny asked.

"It stared Val Varta as Titania and Marcus Roman as Oberon." he said slowly, "They gave a good performance and even though they never married they remained the first couple of the Little Pasadena Theater Company for their entire lives. When he died she retired."

"That's one of the most romantic things I have ever heard." Penny stated out loud, her eyes misted with the notion of it.

"Well Norman Jr., who was a friend of my parents is officially closing its doors but, in honour of his father and my grandmother they want to put on one last performance , see the old girl off in style." he began.

Penny's mouth dropped as she realized what he going to say.

"I've been offered Oberon and I took the role on one condition." he grinned, "I get to name my Titania."

She nearly dropped her Latte right there.

"But, but.." she stuttered helplessly, "I've never done theater before. Not since I was a kid and that was in High school. Even then it was only a school play and it was Death of a Salesman."

Marcus leaned back, the wide semi circle buttons on his blue velvet army style jacket gleamed in the lamp light, in the golden hue he looked ethereal "It's pretty much the same Penny. Just a thousand times better."

"But, what about television and movies..." she began.

He waved her off, his free hand falling against the too small circular wooden table they were seated at.

"Penny, this is SHAKESPEARE. Do you know how many actors go to Stratford in Canada from all around the world to act in a Shakespearean play? It's like the holy grail of credibility." he explained, "This is an awesome opportunity, you'd be an idiot to turn it down."

She narrowed her eyes at him. Behind them a group of young girls were giggling, obviously staring at Marcus.

"I'm not sure. I have the twins,"

"They can come along. We need a little Indian boy anyway." he laughed and reached across the table and took her hands in his.

"Please," he implored, "This is a big deal. There are a lot of big shots coming to this thing. Please just think it through."

Penny nodded. Her eyes drifting to his and then to their conjoined hands.

"I want to talk to Sheldon about it first." she stated.

"Of course, " Marcus nodded, "I wouldn't expect anything less."

Marcus carried the twins up the stairs for her when they got back to the building, making small talk with them and teasing them relentlessly until he managed to drop them onto the couch and kiss Penny on the cheek goodbye. She barely noticed he was there and was immediately very grateful he had driven rather then asking her too. She was just too wrapped up in everything.

She had never even though about theater It had always been Movie or television which, now that she thought about it, seemed idiotic. The Pasadena Theater company and the Furious Theater company were both very well established and perfectly decent opportunities for her to expand into. She had just never considered it. A little googling and she realized that there was definitely a niche. All the other companies seemed interested in the modern and cutting edge sort of shows but no one wanted to try the classics. It was pretty clear that there was an open market that no one had touched since The Little Pasadena Theater House had closed its doors all those years ago. She was forced to snap the laptop shut when the plaintive call for supper was to be heard and she got busy however her mind was still reeling.

Sheldon came home at this normal time, dropping his satchel in it's spot and moving to where the twins were already sitting on the couch chewing on their pieces of grilled cheese sandwich. Penny smiled as Sheldon discreetly reached over to take a small square from Leo's plate. It had grown so much since they had met. Initially he had never let anyone in his spot, never let anyone in his bedroom and never let anyone near his food. Now he was comfortable with sharing his space and his food with his immediate family, although his spot was still off limits to all of them. Sadly, while Sheldon had moved past those issues it appeared Marie had taken them up. Leo was more then willing to share but his twin flat out refused. Penny smiled as she finished making a sandwich for Sheldon and moved to the couch, nudging herself between Sheldon and Leo before lifting her son and placing him on her lap. Marie moved to her side, shooting her mother a look for taking her spot but other then that merely setting down on Penny's free knee.

"How was your day?" Sheldon stated as he took a bite of his own sandwich while waiting for her answer.

She turned her head and pressed her lips against his cheek. He asked her the same question every single day when he came home, and God bless him, he meant it every time.

"Good, I think." she answered gently, "We went to the museum today, you were right that dinosaur exhibit was awesome. They liked seeing the bones and everything. I think Marie wants to go back."

"You did remember to send the children to Mrs. Vartabedian's correct?" he asked gently, concern etched in his eyes"You are supposed to take the afternoons off. Mrs. Vartabedian expects them at 1:00 pm. You did remember didn't you? You did drop them off at 1:00 before you went out?"

"Of course," she smiled, running her hand across his concerned brow, smoothing the lines there before tailing it down his temple down to his cheek before stopping, "I went to the coffee place with Marcus."

Sheldon smiled, "Oh good. You're new actor friend who gets you those auditions. How was coffee?"

"Good" she smiled before biting on her lip, "I have to ask you something."

She watched as his eyes comically went to the cheese sandwich, to the hand on his cheek and then to the children on her lap. He held his breath. She immediately eased the kids off her lap and turned to look directly at him.

"It's nothing bad." she quickly reassured him, "Marcus has this opportunity, I guess you could call it that. His gran used to be in a theater company and they are going to close the doors of the old theater for good. They want to put on this one last show, Shakespeare I think. He wants me in it."

Sheldon blinked and looked at her strangely, "From you're demeanor I had surmised that this was bad news.."

"Well I don't know whether or not to do it.." she began, her hands wringing.

"Now I see where our son get's his foolishness from." Sheldon sighed while shaking his head.

She froze at the barb but he continued on.

"Penny, you have wanted to be an actress for as long as we have known one another. Have you not always persisted in your desire to become an actress? Has your mind changed?" he asked rather genuinely.

"No, of course not. I want to act." she stated with as much conviction as she could.

"Then I fail to see where the problem lies." he continued dismissively, 'This is what you want to do, this is always what you wanted to do, you should do it."

Her mouth gaped open, "But the twins..."

"Childcare is a challenge many parents have to work around, my own did so for many many years." he stated matter of factly, "I had always anticipated you would return to work at some point in our children's lives, the fact you have chosen to do so earlier then initially planned is not of dire consequence. When do these auditions start?"

"I don't know." she answered, still a little shocked, "I never asked when Marcus was talking about it."

"Then perhaps you should go downstairs straight away." he suggested, he smiled at her and motioned towards the door, "This is a good opportunity it would be remiss to lose it because of tardiness."

She jumped to her feet, a huge smile breaking across her face. Moving swift she ran across the apartment to the door and then thought twice. Turning on her heel she rushed back towards the couch and vaulted over it clambering until she sat on his lap, straddling his thighs. Immediately her hands came up to his face, gently framing his features between her fingers. He looked up at her, wide, and questioning with those antique blue eyes . She tilted her head and pressed her lips to his, angling her mouth over his and opening it slightly, letting herself taste him. He placed his hands tentatively on her back. When they parted she took a moment to review the flushed look of his cheeks.

"You are the most wonderful, supportive, amazing husband in the entire world." she stated, with tears in her eyes, "I love you more then anything, ever."

"I am aware." he smirked at her words, "And I love you as well."

Penny rushed downstairs as fast as she could, hoping to catch Marcus.


	13. Raj

Raj

It was only a matter of time and not at all unexpected. Missy Cooper had always had a taste for the exotic. While she was growing up it merely meant she would come home on the back of a motorcycle driven by one of the Mexican boys that lived in their town, the occasional moped driven by a Vietnamese boy or a pick up favoured at large by the locals. Their home did not offer a great deal of variety when it came to ethnicity but she made do with what was available to her and took every opportunity awarded to her. After all, not everyone received invites to live in Germany for a year or study in other countries on someoneelse's dime so she had to be content to sit at home and wait for the world to come to her.

None of her relationships had amounted to much of anything long term. Her own serious relationships were few and far between and while dates were plentiful Missy's callback list was always extremely short. Although she was definitely not at the level her brother displayed Missy Copper was no less hard to please when it came to her wants and what she was willing to accept in a partner. Her standards were high, her learning curve steep and her criticisms caustic. She wanted just what she wanted and if someone did not even meet the basics of her criteria she didn't see the need to keep stringing them along. The worst part was that even though she couldn't articulate exactly what she wanted she figured she would know it when she saw it. She always did.

The first time she had visited her brother at work she had spotted him instantly. Adorable and shy, barely staring at her through bottomless coal eyes framed with black lashes so thick she had trouble believing they were real, she suddenly felt envious of them. She had been in a foul mood; having to drive all that way for her friends wedding. She had been grumbling the entire time about how idiotic it was to get married in Disney World and how much better the coast would have been since practically everyone who was invited was coming from Texas. However, the moment she saw him it all seemed to change. Her mood lightened her anger ebbed and for once Sheldon's presence didn't seem like this sort of annoying drone she had to try and block out. She was paying such close attention to the man in front of her that she forgot to listen to her brother when he mentioned his name. As casually as possible she tried to ask again, the other two geeky guys seemed absolutely delighted she was taking the time to talk to them but he merely looked at her and wandered off. She felt unsure of herself when he had walked away. Those little butterflies fluttering in her belly zigzagging against her stomach in a way that was both pleasant and disconcerting, she nearly jumped on the offer to stay the night at her brother's just for the chance to see his friend again.

Of course the entire experience had been a complete disappointment, if not for Penny she might have actually lost it on the two other guys that seemed to try to cling on to her so tightly she wondering if the one with the tight clothes would wrap himself around her leg and hump her like her friend Chelsea's chihuahua was so fond of doing. The sad part was she was actually looking forward to seeing Rajesh and when he had turned up at Penny's door (just as Penny said he would) Missy found herself looking forward to it, trying to exude that aire of confidence so many men found appealing in her. The Cooper children were not at all timid and she had learned early on if she were going to compete with her brothers she needed to be noticed. Of course when his attempt to ask her out tanked she simply gave up, she was not a damned fool and she knew there would be others. There always had been before.

She left her brother that morning with a hug and a smile and headed to her friends wedding in Anaheim It was beautiful of course and she had smiled with the bride, cried at the vows and partied at the reception She went back to her hotel room that night with a tall handsome man she never saw again and headed back to Texas the next morning. Right as rain.

It took her months to realize something was wrong.

The first time was at work, someone new had come into the Restaurant. His name was Samar and he was a bartender with a nice smile, mocha coloured skin and deep green eyes. He had been taken with her immediately, grinning at her with those perfect teeth. He flirted with her while she sat customers. She smiled and replied to his attentions with polite and affectionate gestures but eventually lost interest. In the end he had not even bothered asking her out on a date, regulating her to the friend category immediately. Nothing came of it. Soon he was dating another hostess and she was as she was. Their confident and friend. She didn't even think anything of it.

The second time was at church. One of the newer families had been invited over to dinner by her mother and being the dutiful daughter she assisted. She dressed very nicely, she played perfect hostess alongside her mother and was very, very impressive. The family was Korean, recently moved to Texas and in possession of one son the same age as Missy. Her mother picked up on it immediately and by the end of dinner Mary Cooper had her daughter all but married off to the young aspiring dentist. And then she did the most amazing thing. He asked her out and she said No. It was a polite apologetic no, from the deep recesses of he heart she was truly sorry but still, no all the same. He nodded in acceptance and kissed her on the cheek and was on his way.

Missy reeled.

She stood on the porch.

She never said no to a date.

She frowned as she realized how that sounded in her mind.

It wasn't that she was easy she just liked going places and trying new things as much as her brother abhorred it. She didn't often invite them home. She stopped. She hadn't invited anyone over in ages. Not since...

She blindly went down the stars and sat down at the ancient picnic table. Memories of her father in the gravel driveway working on the pick up truck flooded her mind and she gathered herself up more for comfort then for head. She could see him now, hoisting her and Sheldon onto each shoulder. The silly things he used to do: Fighting their gran's bobcat, taking them fishing with the dynamite, teaching her and her brother to hunt with a rifle and then with her bow and arrow. Then there was the other side. The two of them making dinner while Mom was away with Sheldon. His telling her to forget her homework for the night so they could go out and play ski ball down at the beach. His coming into her room the night of her first big break up and just rocking her back and forth, telling her what an idiot that young boy had been and how much he would regret it. God, she missed him. She wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. Sheldon had been mostly her mother's concern leaving plenty of time for her Daddy to spend time with her and their brother. All those things he had taught them, the time he had spent with them, had not been lost on her. They had been together until the end and while their mother had been the love of his life he had told her she was his life continued. She was the most like him in both appearance and temperament. She had been with him when he had died and had held his hand and wept over it's lifeless weight.

It took her a moment to realize that's what she wanted. Not some new Daddy figure but to be with someone who reminded her of him. Not the rough and tumble cowboy in him but the sweetness, the loyalty and the understanding. The quiet. The way he looked at her and told her that she was the most beautiful little girl to ever walk the earth. The way he made her feel like the world revolved around her and how she had never felt fear when he was in the same house. That's what had changed. It was no longer about finding a boy to spend time with it was about finding THE boy to spend her life with. And she had found him. The thought sent her back. And she sat in the dark on the picnic table in shock for the better part of two hours trying to figure out what to do.

In the end it was Penny who kept her secret. One night she just picked up her cell phone, a bottle of wine in hand and determinedly punched in the young woman's number, willing herself to speak. The poor girl had barely said hello when her voice came out like a torrential flood. She explained most of her friends were married, no one else knew him and the problem she was facing. No one else knew what it was like falling in love with a genius who didn't even see you as a possibility. Penny knew. Even though, at the time, Missy had thought that it was Leonard that Penny was lamenting about the blonde girl knew how it felt to want someone who existed in a world completely inaccessible to them. They were strangers in a strange land and they bonded together over their similarities. It only took Missy a few months to figure out it wasn't Leonard Penny was talking about in her emails and their conversations and when she did realize it was her brother it did nothing more then cement her determination to succeed. If Penny could break through her twins outer shell then there must be something she could do with Rajesh.

Missy arrived at her brother's doorstep, wringing her hands, her clothing was rumpled form the long drive. Her hair greasy from lack of access to modern plumbing other then gas stop restrooms and diner car bathrooms. For the past 22 hours straight she had been on the road. She knocked on the door again, more then aware that it was the middle of the afternoon and her twin was probably at work. It hadn't been so long since she had last been there for her niece and nephew's birthday, maybe six months and over the past year and a half helping Penny with Marie and Leo had brought her to Pasadena more often then the entire time her brother had lived here pre-Penny. It made the setting more comfortable but her reason for coming seriously negated any warm feelings. She felt her nerves rise.

The impromptu trip had been a necessary one and the worry in her entire body had spread like some sort of horrible virus that consumed her. She had driven blindly, a small suitcase in the back seat and an email folded neatly along side her. It had sat on the front seat, propelling her forward and forcing her to drive all night, making it in record time to her families front door. Missy Cooper was running on nothing but adrenaline and coffee. Her heart was jack hammering. She bounced on the balls of her feet with worry.

When the door opened Penny had one of the twins in her arms and her hair tied back haphazardly. Behind her the remained twin (Leo) was colouring on a small white board with blue and red markers. She wanted to giggle. Sheldon had had one when they were little and he had used it for his science stuff. It looked like Leo was busy drawing puppies. Penny looked out of breath and widened her eyes at Missy's sudden appearance.

"Can I come in?" she asked carefully.

"Of course!" Penny cried, hugging her with her free arm and motioning for Missy to come in and take a seat.

The apartment looked alright, messy but better then Penny's old apartment. She smiled, her brother's OCD was coming in handy. The wreckage was centralized on the couch where there was a collection of papers wrapped together with little metal clips and among those a rather handsome man holding a large packet and reading something underneath his breath. Missy raised and eyebrow, immediately suspicious.

"I didn't think you had company." she stated, trying to keep the coldness from her voice.

Penny didn't seem to notice as she balanced Marie on her hip, "Oh it's fine, this isn't company this is Marcus, he's a good friend. We're going to be acting in a play together, he's helping me learn lines since my time is kinda short."

Missy nodded, still suspicious but willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Plus she had bigger fish to fry.

"So this is a little out of your way." Penny smiled, motioning for Missy to sit down.

The man introduced himself with a smile and shook her hand, had she not been so upset she might have been more attentive, instead she looked straight at Penny, "I need your help."

She held out the printed email with misty eyes.

She knew it by heart and didn't even have to watch Penny read it.

_Dear Missy_

_My parents have arranged a marriage on my behalf. They are coming to Pasadena to introduce me to my bride and weapon of my misery. I apologize for not being able to tell you in person. _

_Rajesh_

She watched as Penny's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Missy didn't care, it had been the same as her own reaction. Except she had hurled her coffee mug at the wall a few moments later.

"I can't believe he would do this to me." she muttered. "We'd been getting on so well."

"How long has this been going on for? I mean I knew you liked him but when did this start?" Penny asked mostly out of stunned disbelief, she had always thought she and Sheldon had cornered the market on mismatched couples. Apparently Raj and Missy were making a claim on the throne.

"I don't know," she replied, her accent thickening with her tears "I can't say. I mean, after Leo and Marie's birthday we started emailing back and forth but no phone calls or anything. You know Rajesh has that condition..."

"He can't speak to women." Penny explained for Marcus' benefit, Missy merely nodded.

"it doesn't really matter, we didn't want to run up phone bills anyhow. We were workin' on talkin' on the computer with that program Shelly put on it for our Mom." she said softy, "We were gonna try talkin' a little bit at a time. Without the video part. See if it helped."

Penny nodded her head in understanding. Skype.

Looking at the email in her sister in laws hands. Then looking at her self, her hands dry and dusty, her clothing merely a pair of sweatpants and a T shirt with CALTECH emblazoned across the front. A gift from Rajesh, sort of as a joke. He had said since Sheldon and he both worked there she was an honorary member. It had been meant to perk her up when she had been complaining about being an uneducated woman, she remembered Penny had been insecure about the same thing. Suddenly she felt completely stupid. This was that insecurity again wasn't it? She had read more into the emails and conversations then there had actually been and done something crazy. She felt thoroughly ashamed of herself.

Missy looked up at Penny. Taking the email back she whispered, "This is so stupid of me. I'm acting like a damned fool. What would Sheldon say? What would my Daddy think? It's not going to work out anyhow. I'm sorry to bother you Penny, I should just go home and forget about this entire thing."

She got up to her feet, straightening her dress with as much dignity as she could. She could feel the tears silently rolling down her cheeks but she refused to give into them. She moved quickly to the door.

"No you don't!" Penny cried placing Marie on the couch as she moved to take Missy into a hug, "Don't you dare go out there and pretend like everything is okay Missy Cooper. You're allowed to feel like this. You're allowed to be upset."

"No, it's foolhardy," she admonished through the tears, "He never told me he loved me. He never said that there was anything between us that was romantic. I mean I always felt like that but it's my own fault for not sayin' it out loud. I should have told him and now it's too late. I can't just show up and look like some sort of crazy stalker. He's gettin' married. It's over."

"I can't believe Raj didn't say anything." Penny replied, still holding her, "He never even once mentioned it."

"Maybe it was just a lie. Something to get me to stop bothering him." she suggested painfully.

Penny fixed her with a gaze that simply said that she was completely insane.

"Missy you've been up all night driving. I want you to wash up and go to our room and tuck yourself in my side of the bed. Don't you dare even think of driving back to Texas or talking to anybody until you've slept for at least six hours or I will empty out your tires. You got it?"

Looking at her blonde sister in law; done up in her sweats with her hair askew and that determined look in her green eyes Missy suddenly understood exactly what her brother saw in Penny. Nodding solemnly she turned towards the bathroom where she knew there were extra fluffy towels waiting for her. A half hour later found her relaxed from a hot shower and tucked into Sheldon and Penny's bed with one of her brother's T shirts and a pair of Penny's sleeping shorts on. The blinds drawn she felt the weariness of her worry and pain take over her. Slowly her emotionalism numbed itself morphing into the calming lull of sleep and the darkness of dreams.

Missy woke up an hour before she actually got out of bed. From 5:30 to 6:30 she lay there silently, her head resting on the crisp, warm cottony pillow that smelt of her brother. It was weird to her to find that comforting but for some reason it always had. Creeping into Sheldon's bed when she was upset had been a childhood habit he had absolutely hated. As long as she was quick and quiet he would usually sleep through her intrusion and wake up screaming the next morning when he found her tucked into his side. It was the reason he had tried to build a robot to keep her out and it was also the reason she had learned to pick locks and move very quietly. While he was always been annoyed by it she had always felt it was her own way of righting things. They had always been together, she had been there when he was created just like she had been there when he was. Even if he didn't think so, even if he didn't care, she always knew that they were a part of one another and just being tucked into Sheldon's bed calmed her mind enough to think straight.

Her relationship with Rajesh was complicated. Well, that was the best word for it. It had all started with the emails. The two of them, back and forth without any standing engagement or time schedule to replies. While she had always wished they could get more personal for months she had hurried home from work and logged onto the computer (no matter how late it was) to check her account. Usually there was one in there, waiting for her with his name attached to it. Koothrappali. She had written it at the end of her name and then immediately tore up the paper as punishment for her foolishness.

He wrote about his day, what he was doing, what he was interested in. She wrote back about her own life and family. She asked after Sheldon, Penny and the twins and his own family in India. He asked after her family in Texas as well. It was so normal, so like a real relationship sometimes she forgot that weren't together except for him not actually physically being there. It was strange. Never had a guy been totally not after sex she had thought they were imaginary creatures or freaks of nature and yet here he was. It was as if God had answered her prayers and delivered to her a cute and sweet Indian boy who wanted her for her personality rather then her body. The only downside was that he was totally incapable of talking to her in person. And engaged. The guy she had been talking to for the better part of two years, this man who she had stayed single for, who she had been helping get through all his hangups had dumped her over _emai_l. Penny was right sleep did make things clearer. Crying over this was insane. It did nothing for her but make her seem emotional and unstable. No she didn't feel as sad as she had before. She felt angry. No, she felt PISSED OFF. Not just at him but at herself too. She was angry at how she had reacted, at how he had reacted. And the situation in general. She was normally such a reasonable girl.

Shaking herself off she rolled into a sitting position. Penny had been kind enough to slip her suitcase into the room by the door and Missy took a moment to look at herself in the mirror before shaking her head in disgust. Her skin was pale with dark bags under her eyes and she was splotchy from crying. Her hair was a messy halo, twisted in waves from drying while she was sleeping and messy in the extreme. She thought of Penny and her friend Marcus and how they must view her. She could hear more then two people outside and could only assume that that meant that the boys were over. Which meant Rajesh was probably there. A smile crept over her lips.

Penny had explained everything to Marcus in the time it took to get Missy showered and put to bed. She assumed Sheldon's sister had not been too concerned with Marcus knowing otherwise she probably wouldn't have started blabbing about problems with him sitting right there. He had been hanging out with her so often that it made sense she tell him, plus after he had met Sheldon Penny had gone on to explain Missy in great detail. He had been interested in what sort of family a man like that could come from and Penny had been gleeful in her explanation. He had been compassionate to her plight and Missy's. Penny knew he was thinking of the horrible way his own ex, Kim, had dumped him. He had only recently mentioned the relationship and the hurt it had brought. Still, it was still a shock to hear that it was Raj and Missy in the situation.

They had all felt that sting. Well not Sheldon but she certainly had. Kurt leaving her for another woman was horrible, the pain hadn't gone away until months after she had moved and even then her relationship with Leonard had tasted of that desperation at times. Missy showing up completely at a loss was something both Penny and Marcus had been through before and not something she was eager to repeat.

When the boys came home Marcus was still there, buried in his scripts. She sat beside him, leaving Sheldon's spot open. Leonard immediately went to his own apartment to tell Leslie he was back while Sheldon greeted the two thespians and told them of his day. It wasn't until Marcus was invited to join them for dinner and got up to tell his grandmother he wouldn't be home Penny dropped the bomb that Missy was sleeping in their bed. The rest of the night featured a rather tense Sheldon staring at Raj as if he had just threatened to kill the twins or being purposely distracted doing something else. Penny smiled, she had never thought of Sheldon being so protective of Missy, then again Leo had to get it from somewhere.

Missy had slipped into the bathroom after changing her clothes. She had tried to do her makeup in the bedroom but the lighting was wrong and she didn't like the glare in the mirror so she had taking her bag and relocated to the bathroom. In retrospect she probably should have closed the door but since she was both clothed and not doing anything embarrassing she assumed she was fine. So when she spotted the handsome man from the living room earlier standing in the doorway.

"Sorry," he apologized immediately, "I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"No, it's fine, come in." she smiled, "I didn't get to meet you before. You must think I'm a crazy person."

He laughed, his brow furrowing slightly, "Nah, Penny told me you were going through a bit of a break up. Believe me, I understand exactly what you're feeling."

Missy smiled at him sympathetically, "Did you love her?"

He laughed again, raising his hand and rubbing the back of his head, his short brown hair was almost the same colour as hers, perhaps two shades lighter, "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I thought Kim was one in a million. Turns out I wasn't the only one."

She nodded again and sighed. Looking to the mirror she focused on the make up around her eyes.

"Who's all out there?" she asked.

"Penny, Sheldon, the kids have been put down, Leonard, Howard and I think his name is Raj. He never talks." he shrugged, and then narrowed his eyes, "The no talking guy, that's him isn't it? Your Kim?"

She twitch slightly smearing her eye shadow.

Missy twirled around, "Now how would a nice boy like you know a thing like that?"

"You've got a tell." he smiled, reaching forward, his left index finger smoothing the sooty brown glitter so it blended in with her skin tone, "You twitched."

"I just got somethin' in my eye." she replied, sticking her chin out defiantly.

"Yeah me too." he laughed, letting his hand drop, "Now get out for a minute. I really do have to use the bathroom."

She laughed and moved to the hallway.

Missy couldn't exactly say when the idea came into her mind, only that it seemed like it was a good one. Marcus was cute, not at all her type, not even close, but cute enough and charming enough to make it seem real so when she strolled out into the hallway, wearing her skin tight jeans, her stilettos and a black satin top that showcased her cleavage she meant business. Her hair had grown longer, and hung down to her elbows in chestnut layers. She looked at the group assembled, even Penny and her brother had stopped to stare at her.

"Penny, thanks so much for the hospitality I truly do appreciate it.." she smiled in a way that she knew made men fall before her, "It was so kind of you to take me in like that and it was really lovely meetin' your friend."

"Oh it's nothing." Penny replied instantly, looking at Missy with suspicion, "You're family. I think Marcus liked meeting you too."

She grinned. Her eyes falling over the assembled group. Penny was still in those sweats and her brother was at his desk, laptop open obviously engaged in something he deemed important. He turned to look at her before his eyes grazed over her jeans, shirt and shoes, stopping at her cleavage for a moment before staring into her eyes with a look that plainly indicated he knew she was up to something and approved of it. Howard was also there, eyeballing her with nothing less then pure lust. Leonard's face was beet red and he was staring determinedly at his shoes while the object of her desire was staring right at her.

That was what gave her pause.

His eyes were not those of upset or anger but instead a sort of sad desperation that she had been seeing in the mirror way too often for her comfort. He didn't look offended or shocked as much as he looked like he was lost. The sight of his own melancholy caught her up and suddenly she felt so exposed. It wasn't normal for her, she had never been the sort of girl who felt self conscious, but his eyes stripped her bare. How could they think that he was mute? His eyes, they were speaking to her right now, so loudly that they were screaming and she wanted nothing more then to turn back the clock and go home, snuggle down in her bed, fall asleep and forget any of this had ever happened. This had been a stupid, stupid idea and she couldn't take it back.

"Hey there, so you ready to go?" a voice from behind her piped up, "You know, to that bar we talked about? When we were in the hallway?"

She whirled around to see Marcus standing there. She had left him in the bathroom in her desire to show up Rajesh and instead here he was, standing before her. His eyes bored in hers with an offer. She took it up immediately.

"You bet Sugar." she smiled as convincingly as she could before turning to look at Penny, "I'll see you later okay?"

"Sure, the emergency key is in the bowl, go ahead and take it." Penny offered, her eyes met Missy's for a moment before they sought out Sheldon's.

"Thanks." she replied gratefully as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her out.

She didn't even turn around to see the damage.

The little bar they had been talking about turned out to a be a late night Coffee house where Missy sat with her Cafe Mocha between her hands, warming her fingers. The teenager at the register had given them both a look but had not said a word as she passed them their paper cups. They both moved in silence before selecting a small, private seat.

"Penny and I come here often," Marcus said casually, "It's good to get her out of the house. I think she gets stir crazy."

"How do you know Penny?" Missy asked, the natural inclination to protect her brother's place in Penny's life was at odds with the fact this stranger had just saved her from a potentially devastating evening.

He smiled at her, "I was wondering when one of you would ask me that. Actually I ran into her when I first moved back in here to take care of my Gran. She lives downstairs and babysits the twins although  
I met Penny just before that happened. Leo wandered down to out apartment and I accidentally knocked her flat on her ass. Been friends ever since."

"You have a lot of friends?" Missy asked.

"I did in New York, now I just have Penny." he smiled, sipping his coffee.

"Why did you leave New York?"

"I joined the army." He answered, grimacing at the taste.

"Why did you join the army?" she teased.

"To leave New York.' he answered enigmatically before shrugging at her, "Kim's probably the main reason. Could stand to be there after we broke up. New York belonged to Kim, every train and bus was a constant reminder of what we had and what I lost. I just needed to get out and the army looked good at the time. When I finished my tour of duty I decided to come home. Gran's the only family I have left so Pasadena seemed a good a place as any to start over and Penny's been a big part of that. It's really hard to find someone that can totally get you. She's been through a lot, just like I have. She's like a new start for me."

"I think she's like that for my brother too." Missy smiled as she popped off the lid of her cup and stirred the chocolate that seemed to be settling at the bottom, "Sheldon's never been normal, can't ever say I thought I'd see the day he got married and have babies. Certainly never thought he'd beat me to it, then again I should be used to him beating me by now. He loves her you know."

"Well there's someone for everyone." Marcus replied, frowning at the cup again, "Or at least that's what people tell me. You just got to keep looking and fight for them when you find them."

Missy tilted her head, lifting it to look deeply into his intense eyes, "Do you really believe that?"

"I have to." was the only answer he could offer.

She took the answer for what it was, sipping at her drink and thinking on his words. It was true Sheldon had always been the best at everything, it was hard to compete against her genius brother although it had become easier when she realized that his "gifts" were also a burden. He was impossible to understand and most of the people at school had made fun of him, not that he had realized it. She had gotten into more fights on her brother's behalf then she ever had for her own good. She had thought he was totally incapable of fighting for anything. Then again, he had fought for Penny. When they had first started dating and after the twins he had stuck it out even though it would have been easier to leave. He had made a stand. Maybe that's what she needed to do here.

"What should I do? He said his parents are making him get married." she stated seriously, "I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing about that. Can I even stop it? Hell, If I can deal with Shelly for twenty eight plus years I should be able to deal with this, right?"

"Do you love him?" Marcus asked.

She thought on it for a moment before looking the man across the table, "Yes I do."

"Then you have two options. You can either let his family end the relationship for you or you can fight for him. It's your call."

She nodded more to herself then anyone else. It was the conclusion she had come to when she had gotten into the car back in Texas and now that she was in California she certainly wasn't going to turn back especially now that she knew how he felt. What the hell was really waiting for her back there anyway, a job at chain restaurant? Men she was wasn't interested in? A childhood bedroom she was beginning to realize she had outgrown long ago? She had already made her decision but it felt good to reaffirmed. She needed to see this through. With that in her mind she felt the weight of the evening lift slightly. This left her mind open for more pressing matters.

"So, why did you save me like that?" she asked now, her eyes dangerous, "And what do you think your gettin' out of this date?"

He held out his hands, "Listen, Penny and I have this arrangement when we go for auditions. We call it the eyes. If I give her the panic eyes it means I need an out. If she gives me the eyes it means she does. The moment I saw her in that living room she was ALL EYES. She was shifting from your brother to me to her so fast I thought her head might explode. I know the routine. I got you out of there as fast as I could."

"So you're doing this for her?" Missy suspicion was riled once more.

"Of course, she's my best friend." he answered, "Not that having a coffee with a gorgeous, interesting woman is actually a form of punishment. Plus I've been where you were. No one needs to suffer through that in a room full of people."

"Are you in love with Penny?" Missy asked honestly.

"Of course, isn't everyone?" he replied charmingly taking another sip of his drink and smirking.

She arrived back to the apartment two hours later. Missy had to admit, for all his sarcasm Marcus was an interesting guy. They had chatted until one in the morning before he had driven them back, walking her all the way to the door. He bent over and kissed her on the cheek before reaffirming that everything would be alright.

She opened the door as quietly as possible and slipped in, pleased to see that Penny or Sheldon had left a lamp on for her. She was not pleased to see that not all the guests had left. Sitting there, on the couch on the side closest to the door was Rajesh. His eyes were downcast, he turned to look at her pleadingly before she had returned his gaze to the floor with a glare. Now he was simply writing his hands. His coat had been taken off, leaving him with a yellow and brown sweater vest over a white dress shirt. His brown slacks looked worn against the warm lamplight and his hair ruffled from one thing or another. She said nothing, she merely dropped her bag near the door and headed towards the kitchen. She could tell he wanted to speak but the old habits did seem to die hard. He looked at her with those eyes and with a sigh she turned on her heels and headed back towards the couch.

"You still can't talk to me can you?" she demanded hotly.

He shook his head so hard she was worried he might hurt himself. She just sat down.

"This is silly of me isn't it?" she stated harshly, "I need to understand something Rajesh, because I ain't as smart or as quick as my brother. I need to know what's going on between us. I thought, I thought there was more to this then just us learning how to talk to one another."

He nodded again and she looked at her hands, willing the tears away from her eyes.

"Sheldon's always been special, even when it came to feelin' things. He knew that they could hurt you so I think he tried to stop feelin' them. Until Penny came along he was kinda like you that way. Not really able to do something, wantin' to but had not been able to for so long that it seemed like something impossible." she continued, those damn tears were ignoring her orders but she pressed on anyhow, " I can't just be like that, pretend that I don't feel the things I do. I can't block it out. I just can't get an email that says their hopeless and then turn them off."

She wiped her face with the back of her hand, shrugging off his own hand when it reached down to comfort her.

"No, you don't get to do that." she snapped, trying not to sound as hurt as she felt, "I don't want you to pity me. I just want you to talk to me. To tell me to my face how you feel about me not to get it in some stupid, shitty email after a long shift at work. Did I ever even mean anything to you Rajesh or was this just some sort of mean game, to show Howard that you could get me to fall to pieces like this? For the love of God, why am I even saying this? It's not gonna do no good! You can't even talk! You can't even tell me if you care..."

He swallowed her words as he turned her head and pressed his lips to hers. Shocked and frozen in place, muffled with his mouth and her own inability to end and respond she just sat there, taller then him and ramrod straight. His mouth seemed to press against her, not in a romantic way, almost as if it had been ill planned and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it now. It didn't matter. She just reacted. Angling her head to a more comfortable position, she brought her hands up to his face, running her finger tips over his temples, cheeks and hair. Soon he stopped just pressing against her mouth and began reacting, moving against her, his own hands against her waist. Pulling away for a moment she caught his eyes. In the low light she could see them, the deep emotion, the smoldering desire and all the other feelings that seemed caught up in his gaze.

He couldn't talk to women.

His parents were forcing him to marry a complete stranger.

She was nothing like the daughter in law they would have wanted. She was just a low income, white girl from Texas, raised in a double wide and lacking in almost anything that would had made her a desirable wife. Except her love for him.

She would not let them do this. Not to him and not to her.

Looking at him in the low light, his labored breathing and the way he stared back at her she knew it in her heart. She loved him. She cared what happened to him and she would not let anyone take whatever they had away from them.

In short. Missy Cooper acknowledged her feelings for this young Indian Astrophysicist who could not speak to women. She embraced it

And she knew one thing for certain, you did have to fight for that one person when you finally did find them.

And It was on.


	14. Penny

_Well, this is the last chapter of this fic! I truly do want to thank everyone who has been keeping up with me and reading as well as reviewing and helping me out when I make mistakes. I really do appreciate everything! I already have two sequels in the works, one that was posted earlier but didn't get many good reviews (with the exception of one Totally Awesome person!) I think I am going to aim to start posting after the premier so if you're interested stay turned. _

_AGAIN THANKS !_

Penny

She sighed and looked before her. Big box stores were the worst. She didn't care that he loved them so much, they were horrible with their overly large carts and all the people rushing around as if they were going to up the prices at any moment. Still, Sheldon was right when he said the savings were huge. She had always preferred to shop at the little market in olde town. There was something so quaint about getting your groceries from a tiny little woman in an apron who was screaming at her grandchildren while they swept the floors looking angry that they had ever been born. She felt so chic shopping there. She had been won over when he had shown her their expenses and explained that by buying in large amounts they could further expand his salary and perhaps even afford a trip back to Omaha or Texas for two weeks during Christmas. She was personally voting for Texas. She was pretty sure Ruby would jump on the chance to go with them as well had she not been dating Howard and had already promised to spend the holidays with his family. Honestly she was looking forward to seeing just how well THAT one played out. Ruby had no idea what Hanukah was. Also Missy was there.

The only really cool thing about these stores were that the carts had two spacious baby seats. A great deal of the other ones only had one and that was problematic to say the least. Now, both Leo and Marie were in front of her chattering in their little way. With enough space to keep them from elbowing one another and having their happy day de-evolve into furious toddler fist fights in a confined area. Marie always won, Penny observed it was because her daughter had no problem playing dirty. Biting, hair pulling and punching Leo directly in the crotch were not below her. However she was in a good mood today and seemed to be getting on well enough with her brother. She smiled as Marie pointed at a stuffed toy and began talking about penguins. Her new favourite subjects were birds and Sheldon was certain she would make a profession of it. Of course he had said that about her interest in animals, and plants and even the stars (that one had pleased Raj). She took a rather large tub of peanut butter and threw it into the cart, alongside the jumbo bag of disposable diapers (bio degradable of course). For the past few months Marie had gone vegetarian, crying at the sight of meat. Penny had simply started feeding her a great deal of peanut butter to replace some of the protein her daughter was losing and praying that she would outgrow this phase before they had to implement the detailed nutrition chart Sheldon had made up 'just in case'. Marie seemed more interested in the chart then anything else.

The sudden ringing and vibration of her phone shocked her out of her thoughts and blindly Penny reached towards her back pockets to grope for the pink piece of plastic. She already knew it Marcus calling about times and dates for viewing the theater. They were planning on doing it as soon as Mr. McCoy was ready but a sudden bout of some sort of illness had him in the hospital, putting that plans on hold. She was hoping Marcus had word that they were a go. The preparations for this were a lot bigger then Penny had initially thought but since it was really only herself and Marcus plus some volunteers running it they hardly had reason to complain about excess time, they needed every minute they could get. Perhaps he was calling about the costumes she had been designing, or when they would have their casting call.

She didn't even really see the buggy in front of her until she slammed into it. Her phone plummeting to the ground in a flurry of pink and scattering into its individual pieces.

Penny cursed and then was immediately chastised by her son for her language, ("Mummy that's a bad word. We aren't allowed!" in a hushed tone) Apologizing to him Penny dropped to the ground to scour for her phone. It certainly wasn't the first time this had happened and it probably wouldn't be the last. Sighing reached for them, reattaching them as she went before she brushed off her gray sweatpants and white tank top, and turned to the person she had hit, intent on apologizing.

She barely got the words out of her mouth.

"Penny?" the man asked with raised eyebrows.

"Kurt?" She replied with the same expression.

He looked just as he had always looked. His body was just as massive, his hair was a little longer and his clothes just the same style. Jeans that made his backside look absolutely AMAZING and a polo so tight she was never quite sure if he just couldn't find the right size or he liked material that clung to him like a second skin. All in all he looked just as he had all those years ago when she had found him underneath her slutty friend Becky. She was so preoccupied that she hadn't realized she was staring until Leo spoke.

"I'm thirsty." he whined.

Without thinking Penny reached into the cart where her bottle of water had been sitting and uncapped it. Her son immediately took it in his hands, his eyes never leaving Kurt.

"Wow, hi, it's been so long since I saw you. How's it going?" she said as cheerily as possible, trying not to fiddle with her hair or recall that she had received the shopping request from Sheldon in the middle of her morning baby cleaning extravaganza (feeding, bathing and dressing the twins) and hadn't bothered changing from her ratty clothes into something nice. Or showering.

"Great." he replied with a smile, "Really picking up. Working over at the gym. Personal Training is a really great business to get into. You been working out?"

Penny laughed, "That's sweet but no, not really. I have been doing a lot of running around lately but nothing that's actually working out. Been around a lot, I've got this acting thing coming up.."

"Oh yeah, you're in that play thing. I saw you on T.V at the gym the other day." he smiled his most charming smile, "You looked really good up there."

Penny blushed. Marcus had insisted that Penny speak to the media and introduce their new play. A Midsummer Night's Dream was a classic and just as Marcus suspected the media loved her. They had interviewed her on every aspect of the play, on if she was going to pay homage to Val Varta or strike out on her own, her own experiences, her ideas for the theater- her personal life. Kurt must have missed that interview. Since Marcus was handling a great amount of the more administrative work he had left creative stuff to her. With the help of Sheldon and Leonard she was actually planning out a pretty cool looking play and apparently everyone was into it. She had sold over three thousand Penny blossoms in the last two months alone when she had worn one for her first interview as a promo piece. All the fairies would be wearing them. People were loving the hype and for once she felt like she was doing something that made a serious difference in promoting both the arts in general and her career specifically.

"Yeah I'm running the thing with a friend of mine. We're hoping it's going to be pretty big. You should buy a ticket." she said as amiably as possible.

Looking up she noted that Kurt was no longer looking at her face, his eyes seemed to be fixed on her breasts. She had stayed a little bigger since the babies but hardly enough to warrant that kind of staring. Suddenly self-conscious she reached for her sweater in the buggy and pulled it over herself, zipping it up as casually as she could. It seemed to snap him out of it.

"Cold?" Leo asked while Marie just looked at her with questioning eyes.

"So you babysitting then?" he asked, he leaned in closer to get a look at the twins " Their cute. Kinda look like you. Did you're sister Ruby pop out a few?"

"What?" was her confused reply. She looked behind her to see if any strange children were following her. It actually took a moment for his words to register; Mostly because she had never considered that her kids looked anything like her at all. They were both tall for their age, they both had Sheldon's eyes and hair colour. Leo might as well have been a tiny Sheldon clone and Marie was simply the female version of her husband. In Penny's mind they looked nothing like her. She loved them to death but she was certain she had merely been a willing incubator for Cooper DNA.

"The kids." he motioned to the buggy where the twins were looking at her," Are they Ruby's?"

"Oh," she exclaimed with a laugh, looking at the twins and shaking her head, "No, Kurt these are my kids. Marie, Leo, this is Mommy's friend Kurt. Kurt, this is Marie and Leo."

Leo immediately gave a smile and stuck out his hand in a friendly shake gesture. He had started doing that when he had seen Sheldon do it one day when they were visiting Daddy at work. Marie did not. She narrowed her eyes at Kurt and gave him a look that suggested that he better not put any limbs anywhere near her or she might bite them. Penny immediately reached into the buggy and picked her up just to be safe.

"Your kids??" he cried in disbelief, "You have kids??"

Three people ahead of them turned around to stare at him. She probably should have been insulted by the look of utter amazement on his face but she could only smile. Kurt had never even broached the subject of kids in the four years they were together. He had touted that he would always be the last of their friends to get married, taking for granted that she would just be there with him. Strung along and waiting for the day he decided they were ready.

"Sure, they're just over a year and a half." she grinned, then added, "Twins."

Kurt was still absolutely frozen before Marie snapped, "Shake hands. Leo wants to shake hands."

He obeyed her without question, reaching over and taking the tiny little hand offered to him. She watched as Kurt seemed to linger, holding the small hand in his own and just staring at it. He then turned to Penny.

"There really good looking kids. Just like their mother." his voice was low and smooth.

She froze, her eyes widening. It had been awhile since anyone had openly hit on her, with the sole exception of Howard and he hardly counted. Kurt had dropped his grasp on Leo and was moving towards her. Who hit on a woman while she was buying peanut butter and diapers in ratty sweats with two little ones at her side.

"I always knew you would be one of those Mom's that looked amazing after she popped out the kid." he crooned, "God Penny, it's been so long since we last saw one another. How did we lose touch like that?"

"Well you cheated on me." she stated as plainly as possible, "Then beat up my friends and took their pants, then lied about why you were paying me back in an effort to get into MY pants. Why does anyone loose touch Kurt?"

"Well it was a mistake." he smiled moving even closer, "Everyone makes mistakes. What we had was special and I was afraid of it. It was bigger then both of us. Well one of us..."

The suggestive eyebrows made her almost throw up in her mouth.

"Come on baby, we can try again." he whispered, reaching over and laying his hand on her cheek, "There's no reason you have to raise these kids on your own. I'd be a great dad. We could have a bunch of our own too, I promise I'd treat these ones good."

"Alone? What?" she snapped, pushing his hand away angrily before lifting hers up so she could see the glittering ring, "I'm MARRIED Kurt."

His good mood switched off immediately at her rejection and he took a step back. His eyes wandered to the ring on her finger and then to the babies in the cart before they took on a cold dark expression. She knew that look from before after faltering under it for four years she could see it from a mile away. Back then she probably would have apologized, given in to his demands and just gone alone with it to keep the peace. But this was a different Penny and that was a long time ago, instead she met his anger with her own, bracing herself and moving in front of the twins.

"You got married? Good god Penny, I thought you had a brain! So let me guess, you got knocked up and had to marry one of those piddling little geeks that were always following you around like pathetic little puppy dogs." he sneered, "God that's sad."

"Pathetic and sad? Really?" she snapped, "I would have thought you got the market cornered on that one! For gods sake you cheated on me with Becky! She's like the town bicycle! Even Chrissy calls her a whore! I hope you got checked out after her, we wouldn't want to fall off, you being Gods gift to women and all. I would rather be with one of those geeks then a girl who should have the Huntington's STD clinic dedicate a wing to her! The only thing sadder then you sleeping with her is her sleeping with you!"

"You liked it well enough." he replied with a great deal of snark.

"Yeah ,well I've got better taste now." she grinned.

His eyes narrowed and his voice was sarcastic "Looks like. Was it worth it Penny, all this to get back at me?No more dancing, or drinking just babies and nerdy shit? Do you like it? Was he worth giving up your life?"

"Well, I did marry him." she snapped back hotly her anger bubbling over, "So he'd have to be. At least he doesn't cheat on me. At least he wanted to have a family with me rather then just thinking I would waste my life waiting around. He's got a great job, he's handsome, he's a total genius, he supports my career and he's given me two beautiful. children. I don't need to drink. I don't need to go dancing. He makes me happy just staying at home doing 'nerdy shit'. Plus if I wanted to do those things he'd be right there behind me, angry about it but he would do it. You know why? Because It would make ME happy. Really Kurt, you think you would have done any of that for me? Even if I had waited around for twenty years? You wouldn't even give up the T.V to make me happy!"

That seemed to stop Kurt dead. He looked at her as if she were speaking in Latin before just pursing his lips shut. She felt bad for maybe a minute before smiling at him. For a moment he did not look nearly as handsome as he always had. She knew she had traded in big muscles for a bigger I.Q and amazing sexual prowess for real affection and love but never had the decision looked so good.

" Well Kurt it was nice seeing you. Let's do this again in five years." she snapped as she maneuvered the buggy and started towards the bakery section.

She didn't even turn around to see him, she had absolutely no desire to. Her future was in front of her in the form of two little mini Sheldon's that were looking at her with his round blue eyes. Of course only one of them had the 'look' right the other one was just smiling innocuously. It was Marie, with her raised eye brow, that asked the burning question.

"Mommy, who was that man?" Marie asked.

"Just someone Mommy used to know a long time ago." Penny answered evenly.

"I don't like him." she answered, looking over Penny's shoulder.

"That's funny, neither does Daddy." Penny laughed.

Marie smiled at her answer before setting the sights straight ahead. Penny took a moment to reflect. If someone had told her when she was with Kurt that they would break up she would have slapped them for being so stupid. She would have argued that she and Kurt fit together, that he made her happy and they would have a bright future together when Kurt decided it was time to settle down. If someone had told her that she would have ended up with that "beautiful mind" genius on the day that Sheldon and Leonard had welcomed her into their world she would have just laughed at how insane the idea what and wandered back into her apartment, never thinking twice on it. Now here she stood, in the center of a big box store, with two little babies in her arms (so to speak) a wedding ring on her finger, Kurt mulling behind her and absolutely no regrets. A huge smile bloomed across her face. Kurt was the past. Sheldon and the twins were the future and in Penny's eyes it shone on the horizon, so blindingly bright it would have put the Big Bang itself to shame.


End file.
